Trump, White House coy on unfreezing NYC funds before Mamdani meeting
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New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks during a campaign event on November 3, 2025. Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images.
The White House once again falsely called New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani a "communist" Thursday ahead of the two leaders' expected meeting on Friday.
Why it matters: President Trump and Republicans have cast the democratic socialist as a boogeyman bent on destroying capitalist values, and their rhetoric signals the two opposing figures may be headed for a headline-grabbing Oval Office meeting.
What they're saying: "It speaks volumes that we have a Communist coming to the White House," press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a Thursday news conference.
- "That's who the Democrat party elected as the mayor of the largest city in the country."
- "I also think it speaks to the fact that President Trump is willing to meet with anyone and talk to anyone to try to do what's right on behalf of the American people, whether they live in blue states or red states or blue cities."
- The president also called Mamdani a "Communist" in a Truth Social post Wednesday evening announcing the meeting.
Driving the news: The Friday Oval Office meeting is "customary for an incoming mayoral administration," a spokesperson for the mayor-elect told Axios in a Wednesday statement.
- They added that the two leaders intend to "discuss public safety, economic security and the affordability agenda that over one million New Yorkers voted for just two weeks ago."
- The mayor-elect's team did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment regarding Leavitt's Thursday remarks.
State of play: Trump previously endorsed Mamdani's biggest rival, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the lead up to the November election, but Mamdani easily surpassed him at the polls.
- Both before and after his win, some Republicans made comments that were widely viewed as Islamophobic and triggered a broader attack on Muslim Americans and politicians like Mamdani.
- Republicans have also circulated a memo on how they intend to "weaponize" his democratic socialist views to target other Democrats up and down the ballot in the 2026 midterms.
- Mamdani is also a Uganda-born naturalized citizen, and some members of the GOP have used his background as evidence that America should crack down on legal immigration.
Zoom out: Trump has issued a slew of threats warning New Yorkers against voting for Mamdani, and has more broadly targeted blue cities like NY by withholding federal funding.
- He's previously said that it is "highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required" because of Mamdani.
- Earlier this year, the president froze approximately $18 billion for two infrastructure projects in NYC on the first day of the government shutdown.
What we're watching: Leavitt was asked on Thursday if the president and the mayor-elect will discuss unfreezing any of the money he's halted for the Big Apple, prompting Leavitt to respond: "we'll see how the meeting goes."
Go deeper: "Mamdani revolution" comes for House Democrats: "People are pissed"
