Trump praises Mamdani following WH meeting, suggests he may 'surprise' conservatives

President Donald Trump offered praise for New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani following their White House meeting on Friday and suggested he may prove many of his doubters wrong.

The Democratic upstart won an upset primary against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., and went on to decisively win the general election this month. Mamdani campaigned on a far-left platform with a focus on affordability. Ahead of his meeting with Trump, the House voted to condemn the "horrors of socialism" in a symbolic vote.

Trump, for his part, expressed optimism about Mamdani's prospects.

“I feel very confident that he can do a very good job. I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually,” he told reporters after the meeting.

Mamdani faced accusations of ties to radical Islamic groups and his sympathies toward Palestine attracted scrutiny from the Big Apple's Jewish community.

But much of his campaign centered on rising cost of living issues in the city, an area that has drawn increasing attention from the president.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.