President Donald Trump said Friday that there is more media attention around his meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D) than even some foreign leaders because Mamdani, a self-identified Democratic Socialist, is “different.”
Trump noted during his Oval Office meeting with Mamdani that “the press has eaten this thing up” and that it has received even more publicity than some state visits from foreign leaders, which was precisely the question Breitbart News was set to ask.
“Mr. President, I was going to ask you exactly that, why do you think there’s so much excitement around this than even some foreign leaders?” Breitbart News asked.
“Because I think he’s different, alright… and that can be in a very positive way,” Trump said. “But I think he’s different than, you know, your typical guy, runs, wins, becomes mayor, maybe, and nothing exciting, because he has a chance to really do something great for New York.”
Many members of the press corps were on hand for the meeting, with scores staking out the West Wing in hopes of capturing a photo or shouting a question to the president or mayor-elect.
Trump noted that Mamdani rose quickly in the Democrat primary and “came out of nowhere.”
“New York is at a very critical point, and he does need the help of the federal government to really succeed, and we’re going to be helping him,” the president added. “But he’s different than, you know, your average candidate. He came out of nowhere… He has a great campaign manager standing over there.”
“What’d you start off at one or two? I watched, I said, ‘Who is this guy?’ He was at one, then he was at three, then he was at five, then he was at nine, then he went up to seventeen, and I said, ‘Hmm, that’s kind of a little bit interesting, right?’” Trump recalled. “And then all of a sudden, he wins a primary that nobody expected he was going to win. It’s a great tribute. It’s an amazing thing that he did.”
Mamdani responded as well, noting that he and the president together admired a portrait, which Trump pulled out of the vault upon returning to office, of late President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the only president to win four terms. Mamdani hailed Roosevelt’s New Deal.
“I’ll just add one thing to what the president said is one thing I also appreciated is in our meeting to appreciate a portrait of FDR and the incredible work that was done with the New Deal, and also in thinking about what it can look like when the federal government and New York City government work together to deliver on affordability and can be transformative,” he said.
Trump noted that Mamdani asked to take a picture with the portrait.
“You know, we have a great portrait of FDR that I found in the vaults that was missing for years. I found it and I put it up,” Trump recalled. “He’s a Democrat… And when the mayor saw that portrait, he said, ‘Sir, do you mind if I have a picture taken by that portrait?’ It’s an amazing portrait.”
“It is,” Mamdani responded.”
“I hope the picture comes out good, but it’s an amazing portrait in the Cabinet Room. So he’s a big fan of the New Deal, I guess, and of FDR,” Trump continued.
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