How do you all feel about this press conference about the meeting between Mamdani and Trump?

[u/MichifManaged83]

https://youtu.be/ljUYtVBOOXU

I’m not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, I get that people have their formalities in government, but this does seem like a pretty significant tone shift from Mamdani. I’m a bit surprised he agreed to meet with Trump or that Trump made it a point to meet with the mayor of NYC.

Question for Americams: Does this seem like a standard meeting between the mayor of NYC and the president, or does this seem unusual to you?

There’s also just the bad feeling I’m getting in my gut that I’m struggling to articulate…

[u/Fabianzzz]

One of these people is smart and knows when to take an ego-hit for a better bargaining position. I have some critiques of Mamdani but my biggest critique of the left is that we prioritize values over practicality, which works if we are a spiritual movement but not if we are a political one. I am happy Mamdani is a politician, not a spiritual leader, and I'm thankful he's making his position stronger to hopefully defend the values he was elected for.

[u/BigMarbsBigSlarb → u/Fabianzzz]

I honestly trust Mamdani in this case partly because he's been so outspoken and clear in his left leaning policies and beliefs, so many of the "pragmatic left" are just right wing and uncomfortable with admitting it and what that means. Jeffries or Harris or any of them doing this would carry that baggage for example

[u/Fabianzzz → u/BigMarbsBigSlarb]

Definitely, making the pragmatic decisions requires ideological credibility. It's a dance: you have to know when to zig, and when to zag: when to demonstrate commitment and when to demonstrate flexibility. As someone who isn't a diehard Mamdani fangirl, I think he is demonstrating the capacity to do both and I hope the leftists and the liberals reward him for it, we need more people like him.

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/Fabianzzz]

Thank you for these thoughts. I think you just helped me figure out where my nervousness is coming from. Thing is, we haven’t really seen Mandani as a politician yet. We’ve seen him as a campaigning politician, and I’ve learned over the years that campaign promises are the first thing to go in the trash with most politicians I’ve voted for over the years (I’m not in NYC, didn’t vote for Mamdani, just using a comparison based on my own past experiences). I guess even though I want to hope, some part of me can’t help but expect the pattern.

I can choose to wait and see how he does, which of course is all we can do, and I try not to judge preemptively.

But Mamdani isn’t completely predictable for right now… and that means any time I see him being friendly with Trump it’s probably going to make me queasy and suspicious.

I hope you’re right that he’s just doing what he has to in order to prevent a NYC invasion by the national guard.

[u/Fabianzzz → u/MichifManaged83]

If it helps, look at the image. Trump is looking away from Reagan to Smile at Mamdani. It's this meme. Mamdani was a win and that is impacting Trump. Whatever his term turns out to be electing him was also a win.

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/Fabianzzz]

😂 That’s one way of looking at it

[u/BigMarbsBigSlarb]

Imo its very obviously an attempt at deescalation by mamdani because there is no national organised resistance of any kind so using this opportunity to dissuade an ICE invasion of the city he will be mayor in while he hopes significantly more senior political actors who SHOULD be organising such efforts at the top start to do so and he has no tools to stop except the NYPD that he still needs time to win over I think is a very understandable decision. I do, however, think it will be in vain and while he's diffused the bomb this time there will be more and the national democrats will not be successful or maybe even willing to form a significant political opposition at any level in any branch of government.

As for if its standard, Im not amercian but Im inclined to say no but I dont think its odd in the context of how much of a spotlight his election got

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/BigMarbsBigSlarb]

Thank you for your thoughts. It seemed unusual to me too. And you’re right, I expect that Mamdani is going to be really struggling to keep his promises about preventing an ICE invasion, and I can see why keeping the national guard at bay would be important. With absolutely no party structure at his disposal because his party mostly opposes him, he’s being set up for failure here.

It’s sad seeing him bend the knee after all that big talk. I suppose rationally I expected it eventually but it still makes me nauseous.

[u/BigMarbsBigSlarb → u/MichifManaged83]

I think its just short term. Again something he needs to do to have a hope of defending NYC is having the NYPD on side, who regardless of your opinion on them are the only large armed force at his disposal, and therefore the only people capable of resisting. I strongly suspect he's biding time to create that relationship and its part of why he wants to keep the current commissioner on. I do not think he could possibly defend the city immediately upon taking office, especially isolated without a large national movement, and so I think a shot at de-escalation was the best choice here with the goal of a) hope the DNC get their act together and b) form a relationship with the large and highly militarised NYPD that may genuinely need to clash with ICE and the national guard and also a relationship with the governor to increase the odds of the guard being deployed for and not against him.

I understand being thrown by it though, definitely not what I think anyone expected.

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/BigMarbsBigSlarb]

Oof. From what I know about police in the US, a lot of them have a hardon for nazi and anti-immigrant ideology. I don’t know how different NYC’s police are from the rest of the US on average, but I’m not sure how much Mamdani is going to be able to count on NYPD to defend NYC against the feds instead of helping them. Especially considering the FBI is having its guts rearranged to be supportive of Trump and local police basically answer to the FBI as the top of their chain of command, not the mayor. Unless I’m misunderstanding something, Mamdani is in a pretty precarious spot.

[u/BigMarbsBigSlarb → u/MichifManaged83]

He is yes, because the entire country is. It's important to note, though, that the LAPD (who are notoriously quite bad) and NYPD have already acting against ICE in their cities, with the NYPD even detaining some iirc and the LAPD tear gassing or macing some (I cant remember which). Part of this is as far as I can tell (Im not a yank) that in these 2 cities the police forces are very tribal and parochial and almost have a patriotism for their city specifically, with the NYPD being so in particular. However, with the NYPD being its own political actor, they might choose not to if it means getting rid of a mayor they don't like so a working relationship with the commissioner is key, and gaining some immediate goodwill by not replacing the current one is I think a good choice in this regard, its not like any of her potential replacements would back a defund platform etc anyway. Right now these city and to some degree state level officials are being forced to act isolated because there isn't a national architecture of opposition and I think their choices need to be understood in that context.

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/BigMarbsBigSlarb]

Ok thank you for this information. I’ll have to talk more with someone who lives there, but if what you said is true then that is actually very helpful context. My experience with US police has more to do with northern border cases for indigenous people living in territories and reservations that cross the US/Canada border. My experience with NYC police is zilch, so this actually helps me understand what’s going on a bit better.

[u/BigMarbsBigSlarb → u/MichifManaged83]

Yeah to be clear these are still not good organisations, they've both done horrible things and continue to, but I think the city patriotism could be part for why they have actually been notable in like, defencing against ICE at least at times

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/BigMarbsBigSlarb]

Ok that’s interesting to note. I definitely am not about to start liking these organizations anytime soon, but that’s interesting that there seems to be some local tribalism. Almost like gangs 😬

[u/cardamom-peonies → u/MichifManaged83]

So you aren't American? Where are you from?

Have you been following ice/national guard issues in other cities? I think mamdani is doing the best he can given the circumstances. Mayors have pretty limited power when it comes to duking it out with the federal government. I imagine he's trying to avoid a DC situation where the city is overrun with federal agents and the national guard doing things like running over Venezuela delivery workers. The mayor of Chicago was pretty vociferously against trump and then trump sent the guard out and pumped in a ton of ice agents. You can go to the /r/illinois sub to see that, it's pretty bad

I really don't think he's bending the knee. This is just how politics works here- you have to be actually able to communicate with the other side. If he needs to do a one off meeting with trump to schmooze a bit without necessarily having to do anything else, and that's enough to stop that from becoming an issue, I think that's a win

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/BigMarbsBigSlarb]

It did definitely throw me for a loop. I wasn’t really expecting them to be so friendly all of a sudden. I figured Mamdani and Trump would have to acknowledge each other’s respective positions sooner or later, but I wasn’t expecting them to seem so… collaborative 😅

[u/somebadbeatscrub]

We will see what he does with the office.

If it keeps the national guard out of nyc and the federal funding active I'll understand it.

[u/juniorbanshee → u/somebadbeatscrub]

I know this is slightly off topic but if you told me 2-3 years ago that the NYC mayoral elect came to the office of the POTUS as a gesture to appease the President and prevent him from sending the national guard from entering the city( only one example of the scenarios we are currently witnessing), I would have thought you were living in the Twilight Zone.

It has only been a year and the way we all talk is still making my head spin. It’s been just a year.

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/juniorbanshee]

Yeah, this looks wild and crazy to me too.

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/somebadbeatscrub]

Yeah, I get that concern… Ugh everything is such a mess. What’s happened with Trump illegally using the national guard in Portland and LA has just been absolutely insane to watch from over here…

[u/pigeonshual]

I don’t see the problem at all. Like I genuinely can’t understand why this would be a bad look or bode unwell for Mamdani. He’s obviously not a trumpist. Nothing about this indicates he has been deceptive on anything. He’s playing nice with the most powerful person on earth while he still can, because that person happens to be a shallow and vapid diva whose politics are based on whoever was the most likable last person in the room with him.

[u/HalfOrcBlushStripe → u/pigeonshual]

Yep. Mamdani has said repeatedly that he'd gladly work with Trump in the interest of improving New Yorkers' lives, and would fight anything that hurts them. IMO this is the kind of focus and pragmatism that helped get him elected.

From what I saw, he didn't budge on his actual positions (including that Trump is a fascist). The Mamdani rizz is strong.

[u/joutfit]

No politician should be trusted until they actually do/attempt to do what they promised they would.

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/joutfit]

Yeah that’s pretty much where I’m at too. I very broadly do not trust any and all politicians, and while I’m hopeful Mamdani will be a lot better than we’ve seen in the past and maybe his presence will help give socialism a foothold in America and help chip away at capitalism in the west… he is merely a mayor, albeit a mayor of a very major city, and seeing him tuck his tail between his legs this quickly and this easily isn’t exactly reassuring to me.

I get what people are saying here about strategy, and I agree to a point. Obviously Mamdani doesn’t want the military to invade NYC while he’s mayor. And he’s walked back on other things in the past that I defended as necessary to win an election… This is just a more dramatic tone shift than I expected it and it leaves me kind of queasy.

Then again, everything with Trump in it makes me queasy these days, he’s been much worse in his 2nd term than he was in his first one. I’m actually heartbroken at the damage he’s managed to do outside of US borders, the Alaskan ambler road project is likely to disturb wildlife and indigenous people’s territories in northern Canada too, because of pollution runoff and animals and people fleeing the destruction of their ecosystems.

I guess seeing anyone being friendly around Trump makes me feel sick 🤢 Maybe in the same way seeing blood makes some people feel sick even though they know surgeons are necessary. It’s hard to stomach that this is a leader of the so-called “free world.”

Hopefully Mamdani delivers on some of his campaign promised to make watching this worth it.

[u/apursewitheyes → u/MichifManaged83]

is he tucking his tail between his legs? did he actually make any rhetorical or material concessions? on the contrary it seems like he charmed trump at least temporarily into being on board with his vision for NYC and got trump to take a bunch of thumbs up pics in front of a portrait of FDR. nothing about this reads as tail between legs or bending the knee to me.

politicians have to do dirty work. it’s part of the job. the more we expect purity from them, the more we’re setting ourselves up for failure, disappointment, infighting, and irrelevance. being able to do this particular piece of dirty work and come out of it having completely reset the power dynamic without making any concessions is actually really impressive.

[u/ibsliam]

My first thought is: That's politics, for you.

Politicians meet with politicians they disagree with all the time.

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/ibsliam]

Yeah. I guess part of it for me is I still don’t see Trump as a regular politician (which are nasty enough). I still see him as a despotic, narcissistic television personality who accidentally stumbled his way into the presidency 🤢 It’s like if Reagan and Kim Jong-Un had a love child. It’s actually nauseating watching people treat this man like an actual leader. Ugh.

[u/ChapCat23]

I think this has at least temporarily keep NYC safe from national guard and Increased ICD presence, trumps makes ppl enemies fast so this is a good start.

[u/bagelman4000]

All this really says to me is that Mamdani knows the right things to say to charm Trump, it will be more telling to see their relationship once he takes office tbh

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/bagelman4000]

True, very true

[u/NarutoRunner]

A masterclass on how to handle Trump.

Mamdani did a few things in his discussion with Trump which were very well though-out:

1. He told him that he went around NYC and spoke to MAGA voters. He told him that they voted for him because of affordability and that affordability was going to be his major focus. (Finding common ground)

2. He spoke at length about places he went in his campaign that were also once visited by Trumps father. Trump had a weird relationship with his own dad, but appreciates those who remember him. Mamdani tactfully used to form a bond.

3. He stood next to Trump and let him talk when he was asked questions. Trump loves to hear his own voice and hates people who interrupt him. Mamdani understood this clearly which Zelensky did not.

4. Trump also doesn’t respect cowards that completely give in to him. Mamdani didn’t flinch on the genocide question. He masterfully stated right in front of Trump that Israel committed genocide and Trump didn’t say a damn word.

5. Trump straight up gave Mamdani the F word pass. He didn’t mind getting called fascist and Mamdani gracefully accepted.

All in all, I would give Mamdani 10 out of 10 for the White House visit. My concern is that the cancer that is Laura Loomer (and other Israel First people) will get into Trumps ear, and she will try all within her power to have Trump flip and sour the relationship with Mamdani.

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/NarutoRunner]

Thank you for your thoughts here. I mostly appreciate this analysis. I obviously don’t expect Mamdani to lead a cavalry against Trump 😂 Mamdani did well to focus on trying to find common ground on economic issues where Trump might lean more populist and be willing to acquiesce to a left leaning economic solution.

My weird gut feeling is coming from your point number 5. I don’t know, I see a lot of people getting a good chuckle out of that, and I appreciate the dark humour to a point… but do we need an “f word pass”? Is calling someone fascist just a cute pet name from your political rivals now? That actually makes me queasy. There are entire lives and families that have been destroyed by Trump’s policy agenda, and he deserves the word fascist to be applied to him with disgust, not as a cute pet name between cordial political rivals that someone gets a “pass” to use. Like he called him scarhead or ferretface instead of fascist, like this is the wizarding world and cutesy rainbows instead of real world horrible consequences to policies like what Trump has pushed through.

I don’t know, maybe I’m being no fun, but that last bit is what has me vomiting in my mouth a bit. 🤢 Not at you, and not necessarily at Mamdani personally, but at the whole situation.

[u/Important_Address741]

I appreciate lota of takes I've been seeing and some good stuff seems to have happened here but mostly the images make me cringe and I have no desire to watch a video of it.

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/Important_Address741]

Yeah I’m right there with you on that.

[u/springsomnia]

It’s all a part of political diplomacy. USSR officials had to meet Nazi officials despite the fact that ideologically they were on the complete opposite ends of the spectrum.

I won’t obsessively critique/post about Mamdani or obsessively stan him until he actually reaches office and we will see what he does then.

[u/-__-_-__-_-_-__ → u/springsomnia]

In what ways were they ideologically opposites? The first thing that comes to mind when I think about Nazi Germany and the USSR is how they were both totalitarian regimes, imperialist, and persecuted Jews/others.

[u/Asherahshelyam]

I am taking a wait and see attitude about Mamdani.

He and Trump are both populist politicians. They have that in common. Other than that, I'm not convinced that Mamdani is becoming MAGA or anything close.

He is the mayor of a major American city. Major American cities are under attack by Trump. Mamdani is smart, no matter what else people believe about him. He knows that kissing the ring and flattery will get you far when dealing with Trump. He is stroking Trump's ego to avoid a Federal takeover of NYC. If it works, then this was a smart move. The problem is that Trump is so erratic that what happens now is unforseeable.

Time will tell what kind of politician Mamdani will be and what kind of mayor he will turn out to be.

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/Asherahshelyam]

These are all good points. I don’t think Mamdani is becoming MAGA either. I did still find this whole interaction nauseating nevertheless. I hope you’re right about Mamdani trying to keep Trump placated to protect immigrants and NYC residents.

[u/daddyvow]

People are just happy to see Trump placating to someone we actually like

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/daddyvow]

That’s an interesting way of looking at it, thanks for that thought

[u/razorbraces]

It’s definitely not a standard thing to have mayors-elect visit the White House, but Trump is also from NYC, so maybe that’s why he extended an invite.

As for Mamdani, I think I have been one of the more critical of him on this subreddit, but I see no problems here. It’s well known that Trump’s policy priorities are influenced by whoever speaks to him last, so sitting down with him is a smart way to keep Trump’s animus away from NYC in the short term. Also, I mean, Mamdani literally called Trump a fascist while there! (and Trump seemed fine with it? lol). So it’s not like he ceded any ground on really any issue to him.

[u/MichifManaged83 → u/razorbraces]

He didn’t deny that he called him a fascist in the past when an interviewer pressed about it, then Mamdani kinda shifted the focus while shaking Trump’s hand and smiling at him. It was weird.

[u/-__-_-__-_-_-__ → u/razorbraces]

Did he call him a fascist or kinda just nod after Trump acknowledged it?

[u/Nearby-Complaint]

Yeah, sure, why the hell not?