Trump says he ‘doesn’t mind’ Mamdani calling him a fascist as they bury the hatchet in stunning press conference: Live updates

President Donald Trump cut off Zohran Mamdani and patted him on the arm as the New York City Mayor-elect was asked to confirm that he believes Trump is a fascist.

During a high-stakes meeting in the Oval Office Friday, a reporter asked whether Mamdani was “affirming” that he thinks Trump is a “fascist. ” The mayor-elect started to respond: “I’ve spoken about —”

The president, who frequently called Mamdani a “communist” during his mayoral campaign, then interrupted and said with a smile: “That’s ok. You can just say ‘yes.’”

Mamdani, looking at the group of reporters, seemed to grin uncomfortably before saying: “OK.” He waved his hand as if suggesting the next question was welcome.

Just weeks ago, the president was threatening to revoke federal funding to New York City if Mamdani was elected. But Friday, Trump appeared smiley and excited to speak and work with Mamdani to make the city more affordable for New Yorkers.

Jokingly hitting Mamdani’s arm and sharing anecdotes about the recently elected 34-year-old, Trump expressed optimism about the future of his hometown under Mamdani’s leadership and vowed to work with him.

“I expect to be helping him, not hurting him — a big help,” Trump said.

After months of attacking New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mandani as a “communist” and threatening to strip federal funds from city government if he won this year’s mayoral election, President Donald Trump now says the 34-year-old Democratic Socialist will be “a really great mayor.”

Read more from White House Correspondent Andrew Feinberg

In an unexpectedly polite press conference, Trump and Mamdani appeared united with one another and working toward the same goal of making New York City more affordable.

Mamdani, whose politics has been characterized as the polar opposite of Trump’s, did not take any bait from reporters who questioned if he thought the president was a “fascist” or if he was welcome in New York City.

Instead, he pivoted the conversation to appear respectful to the president and willing to work with him by putting aside any ideological differences.

Trump, who also appeared laid back and happy, laughed off any mention of the two men trading insults and lifted Mamdani as the future mayor.

“We agree on a lot more than I would have thought,” Trump said.

“I think this mayor can do some things that are going to be really great.”

President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to walk back his demand for a group of six Democratic lawmakers to be executed for what he called “seditious behavior” just a day earlier, telling a right-wing media personality he was speaking of practices in times long past.

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

When confronted with a question about using the word “communist” to describe Mamdani, Trump tempered down some of his anger toward the New York City mayor-elect.

“He’s a little out there, but who knows. We’re going to see what works. He’s going to change also – I changed a lot from when I first came from office,” the president responded.

Despite deep political differences, Mamdani and Trump appeared extremely polite toward one another – discussing aspects they agree on such as housing and affordability in New York City.

Trump congratulated Mamdani on his win saying, “he really ran an incredible race against some incredible people.”