The Trump-Mamdani Bromance

Michael Chugani December 01, 2025 09:00

Politics can turn on its head in the blink of an eye. That's what happened at the White House recently when President Donald Trump met with New York City's Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. Everyone, from political pundits to journalists, was certain Trump, a Republican, would insultingly humiliate Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, like he did with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenski.

He had called Mamdani a radical leftwing communist lunatic during the mayoral election campaign. He even threatened to revoke Mamdani's citizenship. Mamdani is a 34-year-old Muslim born in Uganda. He and his Indian parents settled in New York City when he was seven years old. He became a naturalized American in 2018.

Trump's right-wing supporters have called him a Muslim jihadist. They and the Republican Party's PR machine gleefully planned to tarnish the Democratic Party as communist by linking Mamdani's socialist agenda to the party if he won the mayoral election. Mandani in turn mocked Trump as a fascist, a despot, and avatar of corrupt landlords.

Mamdani's core pledge during the campaign was to make New York City affordable for its residents with policies that include affordable child health care, lowering rents, making bus rides free, and opening several government-run supermarkets with affordable prices in remote areas.

He wants the governor and legislature of New York state to approve his proposal for a two percent city tax surcharge for New Yorkers earning over US$1 million to pay for his policies. He also wants to gradually increase the city's minimum wage to US$30 an hour by 2030. Right-wing media and influencers have condemned his policies as radial left-wing socialism.

I lived in the Manhattan district of New York City about three years ago. The cost of living, including food and restaurant prices, is far higher than the national average. Rents for even tiny apartments are unaffordable for many. Luckily, my younger brother owns a Manhattan apartment which he let me stay for free.

Mamdani will begin his four-year term as mayor on January 1. Almost 39 percent of voters turned out for the election. He began his campaign with just one percent of voters supporting him during the primaries. He got well over one million votes on election day, the highest in recent history, of the two million cast for the three candidates. New York City residents will be watching and waiting to see if he can deliver on his campaign promises.

But Trump, who respects big winners, was already impressed by Mamdani's star power when they met privately at the White House. They discussed affordability and other issues affecting New York City. Trump, who recently said he didn't want to talk about affordability, was forced to reverse course when his Republican Party candidates lost every race in the November 4 off-year elections, including the New York City mayor's race. Democrats made affordability their core campaign message.

Mamdani used his political skills to win over Trump during the meeting. When White House staff invited the media to the Oval Office for questions after the meeting, reporters were stunned to see a bromance instead of a blowup between Trump and Mamdani. They acted like good buddies instead of political enemies.

Both grew up in the Queens borough of New York City. Trump had threatened to cut federal funding for New York City if Mamdani won but told the media in the Oval Office that he now would help Mamdani succeed as mayor. When a reporter asked about Mamdani calling him a despot, Trump said he didn’t mind because he had been called worse names.

Another reporter asked Mamdani if he had called Trump a fascist. Before he could answer, Trump smilingly patted Mamdani’s arm and told him to just answer yes. The right-wing media had warned that millions would flee New York City if Mamdani won. But when a reporter asked Trump if he would live in New York City with Mamdani as mayor, he replied he would be happy to do that.

Many media reports, including in Asia, said New York City had elected a communist mayor. Some of my friends asked how that could happen in America. I tried to explain there is a difference between a democratic socialist and a communist. The biggest difference is that Mamdani was freely elected by the people. Trump told the media in the Oval Office he supported many of Mamdani’s policies.

No one knows how long the lovefest between Trump and Mamdani would last. Political pundits expect it would be short-lived because of Trump’s unpredictability. They believe the two will resume their name-calling as next November’s mid-term congressional elections approach. But for now, the right-wing media and influencers are struggling for ways to report the bromance after months of attacking Mamdani as a communist.

Michael Chugani

A Hong Kong-born American citizen who has worked for many years as a journalist in Hong Kong, the USA and London.