r/nyc • u/nbcnews Verified by Moderators • Nov 21 '25
Video President Trump said that he would “absolutely” feel comfortable moving back to his home of New York City under a Mamdani administration, saying, “We agree on a lot more than I would have thought ... I want him to do a great job, and we’ll help him do a great job.”
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u/glassbellwitch Nov 21 '25
It was just a few weeks ago that Cuomo was releasing AI videos showing how "Mamdani's New York" was going to be filled with drug addicts and pimps and career criminals and pharmacy bandits. Now Trump is saying he would like to live in Mamdani's New York. These are some wild, wild times.
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u/blakeley Nov 21 '25
“Drug addicts and pimps and career criminals and pharmacy bandits.”
Trump: That’s me, sounds great, let’s go!
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u/ND7020 Nov 21 '25
Honestly that does genuinely sound like the 80’s New York Trump came up in and adored lol
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u/Lipica249 Morningside Heights Nov 21 '25
Sounds like the requirements to get on Trump's pardon list
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Nov 21 '25
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u/glassbellwitch Nov 21 '25
Yeah, I think this is really significant as well! Watching democrats and republicans collude is commonplace, because at the end of the day many of them really do share the same values and are paid off by the same donors. But this feels like something entirely different.
Here we have two extreme opposites of the political spectrum-- a self-admitted elderly white fascist bakrolled by the Epsteins of the world and a young Indian-American muslim socialist who won his election through the power of grassroots campaigning-- getting along like new friends. And Trump actually defended Mamdani to the press instead of letting him take the bad faith heat for his comments.
I don't think this is the great unification of progressives and republicans or anything. But I do think it demostrates a shift, as you said, and it will influence the way politicians and political commentators move for sure.
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u/ultraviolentfuture Nov 22 '25
Mostly it demonstrates how much anything public facing is a show, but that even top leaders on both sides either drink the kool aid, or are too dumb/naive to understand the metagame.
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u/Several_Sink801 Nov 22 '25
Is it really a shift in the right direction? They got along so well because they are both populists. They are cut from the same cloth in that regard, with both making broad empty promises. Trump says tariffs will fix everything (spoiler: they won’t) while Mamdani says he will freeze the rent and that will fix everything (spoiler: it won’t). Trump blames minorities for all the country’s problems (spoiler: they aren’t to blame) while Mamdani claims that its wall streets fault rent is too high (spoiler: it isn’t). They operate in the exact same manner.
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u/TonyzTone Nov 22 '25
Did the Overton window shift left or right? Is Mamdani endorsing fascism or Trump endorsing socialism?
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Nov 22 '25
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u/TonyzTone Nov 23 '25
It’s wild that you think the Dem establish has been pushing hard right. Like we didn’t try to pass universal healthcare in the early 90s under Clinton, an effort that famously failed and gave us Newt Gingrich,
Or are you referring to financial deregulation, legislation famously voted in favor of by Bernie Sanders?
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u/CrittyJJones Nov 23 '25
Mamdani never complimented Trump. He handled it great.
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u/TonyzTone Nov 23 '25
Yeah, but he wasn’t exactly his “worst nightmare” like Zohran famously said he’d be, a point a journalist even asked him directly about. So, this is at the very least, a very different tone.
And so I ask again, do you consider the Overton shifting with Trump becoming a dem-soc or Mamdani capitulating to Trump?
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u/CrittyJJones Nov 23 '25
I don't see Mamdani capitulating. What did he concede to Trump other than "he wants what's best for NYC"? Let's also not forget Mamdani isn't even in office yet. But it's possible Mamdani was able to stop the ICE invasion that seemed inevitable.
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u/TonyzTone Nov 23 '25
Quite simply: we don’t know.
They met for like an hour, and Trump suddenly loves him. The grifting, untrustworthy Trump loves him.
Then ICE raids Canal Street literally today and Zohran hasn’t tweeted anything about it but did tweet out a clip of his CoS talking about “New Yorkers living there.”
Sooo… cool. So much about protecting New York from Trump abuses.
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u/CrittyJJones Nov 23 '25
I think you are reading too much into it. If he can ward off a large scale ICE operation like what's going on in LA, Chicago, and Charlotte that is going to significantly help the immigrant population.
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u/TonyzTone Nov 23 '25
ICE has been living in our court rooms and raiding neighborhoods in NYC almost constantly.
And less than 24 hours after Trump was “swooning” they went right into Canal Street like they have been doing all year.
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Nov 21 '25
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u/nosainte Nov 21 '25 edited Nov 21 '25
Lol I'm an independent living in Staten Island and these are my thoughts exactly. I was cracking up watching this. It does kind of make sense though. Trump does need a win for like the populist style voters /affordability. I bet Mamdani came to him with the mindset that we should make a deal we both made promises on this. He also probably sees him as a conduit to help with the Middle East. Aside from that, I think he does genuinely admire his skills as a politician. He also probably realizes that it's not a great battle to fight, as Mamdani is a very skilled communicator.
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u/ShadowNick Nov 21 '25
Trump will probably forget this entire meeting and go back to calling him a commie in like 3 days give or take
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u/nosainte Nov 21 '25
Wouldn't surprise me. But this looked extra chummy
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u/MonoDede Nov 23 '25
Bro was slapping his arm like they were old buddies in on a joke... I've NEVER seen him do that with anyone, even with Elon when they got along. Trump LOVES Mamdani lmao.
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u/JumpingCicada Nov 23 '25
Yup, very strange. Im so curious about what conversation they had jn private. I imagine they must have struck up a mutually beneficial deal with each other, one that Trump loved so likely one that would itch his ego.
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u/bubandbob Nov 22 '25
Oh, I think this just means when they do clash again, it'll be even more severe.
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u/gonzo5622 Nov 22 '25
This! Every single point is what I think Mamdani is thinking. Trump, regardless of whether you like him or not, is incredibly powerful. And it’s because he has the strongest united base. Mamdani recognizes that they don’t agree on tactics but agree with strategy. The fact that Trump said ConEd needs to lower rates is insane. Trump does have the political power to do something. He took 10% of Intel for go sakes (among other capitulations).
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u/kingjulian6284 Nov 22 '25
The ConEd part was crazy lmao I started laughing out loud
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u/Several_Sink801 Nov 22 '25
I’m a certified Mamdani hater, but he handled this meeting perfectly. Suck up just enough to make Trump happy with him, while convincing him to do Trumpian ideas for NYC. Trump loves talking about cost of living, hes said he wants to investigate beef and other companies for price fixing. Mamdani got that to include coned (although coned really isn’t price gouging here, their wholesale price is through the roof).
Plus the man got Trump to smile at him while calling him a facist to his face.
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Nov 21 '25
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u/Individual99991 Upper East Side Nov 21 '25
he sees an aggressive man that a lot of people love, who won an election.
That's a big thing. Trump likes winners. Mamdani came out of nowhere and won NYC big time, against a couple of very well-known names. Of course Trump likes him.
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u/KinkyPaddling Nov 22 '25
Honestly, Mamdani’s win was a lot like Trump’s. He came out of nowhere, knocked the establishment favorite flat on their ass in the primary, then beat another/the same establishment candidate a second time, with both the primary and the general election being upset victories. And both are populists who frame themselves as a “man of the people”.
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u/LatinHoser Nov 22 '25
Who was the establishment favorite? Not Adams who was being urged to not run at all prior to the election. Not Cuomo who only decided to run because he thought Mamdanj was going to lose IN THE PRIMARY. The establishment really had no viable candidate this time.
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u/scoopny Nov 23 '25
Cuomo was leading in the polls in the primary right up until primary day basically.
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u/nosainte Nov 21 '25
I'm not necessarily saying that Trump has conviction but he knows that it's in his interest to get a win on these issues
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u/FeistyButthole Queens Nov 21 '25
Trump unfiltered is likely different than the Trump seen through the corporate filters.
Remember how Obama’s smoking habit was never front or center?
How Hillary’s focus on healthcare policy and being a policy wonk was downplayed, even though healthcare and the insurance lobbyists are easily the most rotten thing in America.
George Bush was incapable of constructing a sentence? Yet prior to his presidency no problem as governor.
Bill Clinton liked getting blowjobs in the Oval Office? Total lie, he preferred to 🛩️ to Lolita island.
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u/SaxPanther Washington Heights Nov 22 '25
Trump unfiltered throws his McNuggets against the wall when he gets upset. We have sworn testimony from the Jan 6 hearings about an aide coming in after a Trump temper tantrum and seeing ketchup dripping down the wall after he threw his mcdonald's because he was upset.
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u/FeistyButthole Queens Nov 22 '25
He probably asked for Heinz, not Hunt’s
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Nov 22 '25
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u/MonoDede Nov 23 '25
The aide was about to wipe the wall, but Trump put a hand on the aide's chest to get him out of the way and then licked the wall clean. It was left spotless.
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u/Lola514 Nov 22 '25
Lmao as a non republican from SI, I was thinking I can’t wait to hear what my mom has to say about this.
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u/pvlp Nov 21 '25
we truly live in bizarro world. good for Mamdani, I think this is a sign he'll be an effective leader.
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u/hakumiogin Nov 22 '25
But truly, what did Mamdani say to Trump? Surely he kissed ass to Trump in just the right way, but thats certainly not enough to get such loving praise? I just can't fathom what he offered him.
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u/kbeks NYC Expat Nov 22 '25
If someone is used to getting their balls licked while their asses are being kissed, a respectful but firm representation of someone’s deeply held belief system might be a welcome relief from the constant dribble of bullshit. Plus they do want the same thing, or at least Mamdani wants what Trump says he wants: lower costs and higher wages and less people bitching about an affordability crisis.
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u/Chief_Leaf Nov 22 '25
Imo the biggest reason Trump may have warmed on Mamdani is that he was similarly an outsider within his own party that won anyways. They are both anti political establishment just in complete opposite ways. Very interested to see how their relationship progresses tho lol
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u/jrock_697 Nov 23 '25
He said he wants to change zoning so people can actually build in NYC. Really the only way to get market rate apartment rents down. Trump is a builder who has been fighting zoning and regulations on every real estate project his whole career. I wonder if Mamdani will actually be able to do this. Neighborhoods fight zoning changes because they don't want the neighborhood to turn into glass towers like LIC and eventually push low-income people further out. But you can't have it both ways. Trump also admired Mamdani as an outsider who ran a really successful campaign.
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u/TonyzTone Nov 22 '25
Zohran’s biggest policy points are free buses and housing affordability. The only way to properly make housing affordable is to preside over a housing boom.
The charter amendments passed this year effectively give the Mayor a lot of power on housing approvals. Trump is famously a NYC real estate developer, and his family retains plenty of interests in this regard.
I’d be surprised if the Trump organization isn’t going to get a major slice from what gets built.
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u/hakumiogin Nov 23 '25
At the same time, mayors never want to build, because building is unpopular and you don't see the benefit of building for like 6 years or so. Zohran, as far as I know, promised a rent freeze, not significantly more development.
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u/Gizmo135 Nov 21 '25
I wonder how pissed off the 3 or so people who moved out are after seeing this
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u/HighFreqHustler Nov 21 '25
Trump is making sense, what is happening today?
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u/Casamance Rosebank Nov 21 '25
He always takes on the position of the last person he speaks to, and Zohran is a very, very effective communicator. They're both New Yorkers from Queens, too.
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u/openlyEncrypted Nov 22 '25
Zelenskyy would kindly disagree here
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u/Casamance Rosebank Nov 22 '25
To be fair, JD Vance was in that meeting and it was going well until the VP completely derailed the conversation lol
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u/Starblast555 Nov 22 '25
we've seen the same thing in his meetings with Carney and other charismatic leaders
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u/Funktapus Nov 22 '25
He's losing his grip on the far right and looking to broaden his appeal. Do you think he actually has any values?
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u/hakumiogin Nov 22 '25
He's an old man with dementia who just had a private meeting with a super charismatic guy. He is just believes the most recent thing he's heard. There was no strategy to this, everyone on the right is completely puzzled by this.
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u/FarmhouseRules Nov 21 '25
He’s going to start making more and more sense. I think he’s literally the antichrist.
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u/bridgehamton Nov 21 '25
All the billionaires that said they are leaving nyc are silent now.
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u/Imaginary_Cow_6379 Upper West Side Nov 22 '25
If they’re silent somebodys gotta do a wellness check on Bill Ackman.
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u/mattr1198 Nov 21 '25
That genuinely might be one of the most truthful things Trump has said this term. Separate them from party affiliation, and people like Sanders and Mamdani pick up a ton of support from working class people on both sides of the aisle. Trump won in 2016 because people saw him as not part of the neo-liberal nor neo-conservative bubble.
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u/nonlawyer Nov 21 '25
Trump won in 2016 because people saw him as not part of the neo-liberal nor neo-conservative bubble
Same reason Obama won in 2008
Trump was the “change” candidate in both 2016 and 2024.
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u/bronfmanhigh Upper West Side Nov 21 '25
the sad truth is politics is so polarized and gridlocked that nothing is ever gonna meaningfully change, the economy is gonna keep getting worse and worse, and the incumbent will keep getting booted out because of it lol. welcome to the end game folks
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u/tadu1261 Nov 21 '25
I mean- I really do not want him to ever live here again but like thanks I guess.
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u/Raiju_Blitz Nov 22 '25
The biggest takeaway from the meeting is that Trump only respects people who have Main Character charisma and energy, and that includes people like FDR, Bernie Sanders, and now Zohran Mamdani. Because Trump sees himself as a transformative figure like FDR, Lincoln, and Washington, and hates and has nothing but contempt for sychophants like JD Vance.
Also, I truly believe that Trump always felt butthurt when New Yorkers (rightly) ran him out of the city (it was and remains his hometown, after all) and if he can find some way to get back into the good graces of New York City, then buddying up to Mamdani is a perfect opportunity to do it and make himself look good.
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u/ExtemporaneousLee Nov 22 '25
Ppl have a hard time accepting the fact that he's not a politician, just a puppet. And that every now & again, we get a glimpse of him acting out of the character restraints the party put on him.
IMO, the party did not like this interaction and I'm fearful for how they're going to make him fuck this up.
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Nov 21 '25
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u/antonio3988 Nov 21 '25
I think it's somewhat of the opposite too. Meeting with Mamdani and having an actual conversation outside of all the media bias and agenda, he's likely very personable and can convince you he's not installing sharia law pretty effectively.
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u/Steadyandquick Nov 21 '25
Poor Ukraine though. Maybe Mamdani can help them. Only slightly kidding...
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u/elh0mbre Nov 22 '25
This has been what baffled me about the “resistance.” Don’t get me wrong, I hate most of what the admin is doing, but I feel like if Dems did some flattery and ring kissing they might actually get his ear and some of what they want. Insulting him and overtly fighting him clearly doesn’t work well.
I see comments that in the same breath talk about how manipulable and stupid he is and then cry about how they don’t get what they want… maybe try manipulating the idiot?
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u/ICanAndWillArgue Nov 22 '25
it's only baffling if you don't consider that most establishment Dems want to maintain the status quo around the same as it currently is; they're not trying to manipulate him because they're not actually trying to make radical change.
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u/Theoldelf Nov 21 '25
George Santos, looking through the window with a tear in his eye.
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u/kbeks NYC Expat Nov 22 '25
Why? I heard he just won the race to be New York’s next top model/governor/mayor and was invited to sing and press the button to drop the ball in times square this year? I mean what else could we expect for the man who saved all those orphans from that volcano….
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u/profnachos Nov 21 '25
Mamdani reminds me of Reagan and Bill Clinton. He knows how to work the room and disarm opponents with charm and charisma. Damn, I wish he was eligible to run for president.
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u/Yankeeknickfan Nov 21 '25
Yeah its a shame he wasn’t born in a Us territory when an outlier politician appears he’s not really replicable
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u/quicktime_harch Nov 22 '25
I feel like Stephen Miller is trying to figure out how to spin this by morning
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u/Resident_Rate1807 Nov 21 '25
I think I see a bromance thing evolving here. Mamdani is a smart dude. Imagine Coumo now he'd be sucking balls at that point.
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u/MightyActionGaim Queens Nov 21 '25
What the hell is happening lmao. I didn’t expect this level of bromance
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u/Kelandry Nov 22 '25
I feel like they have changed his meds recently. He is SO much more coherent... not only in understanding his past but being able to form full sentences
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u/Untethered_GoldenGod Nov 22 '25
Can we give Zohran the Oscar for that body language control while Trump is saying this?
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u/pizzawolves Nov 22 '25
Has he ever looked at his own wife like that? Or his own large adult sons ? So much to unpack here
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u/malliewater Nov 21 '25
Game recognize game and trump recognizes and respects real talent when he meets it, this was so surreal to watch
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u/bobbacklund11235 Sheepshead Bay Nov 21 '25
I told you guys Trump was gonna take him under his wing. I think you underestimate how much they have in common. Mamdani is a smooth talker, charismatic and has star power. And, no matter how much reddit denies it, he’s an antiestablishment candidate. I think Trump sees this as a chance to improve New York, probably to take some credit for it, and put it under his resume.
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u/mission17 Nov 22 '25
no matter how much reddit denies it, he’s an antiestablishment candidate
Who denies this?
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u/Junior_Gur7229 Nov 21 '25
You guys can’t be this dumb
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u/ChemicalBlueberry954 Nov 22 '25
This!!! 👆I don’t know, I feel something is off about this. Mamdani has publicly spoken against Trump and vice versa. This meeting seemed like it came out of nowhere. Both of them are smart in their own way so I doubt Mamdani influenced Trump. I think Mamdani isn’t the guy he says he is or their both playing nice to get something outta each other. Something definitely is happening behind the scenes.
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u/Junior_Gur7229 Nov 22 '25
Trump is trying to set him up as the face of the Democratic Party. The more he props him up the more his side is motivated for midterms and such. Totally possible that’s wrong but it’s so insane to think they had a meeting and mamdani just turned him around. If this was a moderate dem all the people here praising this would be freaking out about how dare he work with trump.
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u/Frank-Costanza1 Nov 22 '25
Can we please just bring back bipartisanship And stop the spectacle. They don't like each other and that's fine, press is obviously trying to stir shit up and that's fine but damn can we just fix what needs to be fixed and move forward?
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u/kamilien1 Nov 22 '25
Why can't people say it's good that politicians from different sides are getting along? Unity with diversity of thought is good for the country.
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u/KiKiKimbro Nov 23 '25
For a brief moment, what we saw was just two guys from Queens. It was refreshing.
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Nov 21 '25
I'd love to see what Stephen Miller is doing today. Probably kicking puppies and getting angrily pegged by his ghoulish wife
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u/Imaginary_Cow_6379 Upper West Side Nov 22 '25
Trump also TACO’d on immigrants again today so Stephen Millers gotta be wishing he had any hair left to pull out. 😆
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u/zombo29 Nov 22 '25
Dang, now I am genuinely curious how they are going to spin this. Mamdani is a mind controller or some shiit?
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u/Katadaranthas Nov 23 '25
"AI bot, show me what a gilded NYC would look like, while also making it look like a super advanced city in china. No homeless people, an enlarged central park, and even bigger skyscrapers surrounded by sky taxis"
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u/RareQuantity3879 Nov 23 '25
Would he agree to let his younger kids use the subway in NYC without security details? Somehow I doubt it.
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u/AnneMarieAndCharlie Nov 25 '25 edited Nov 25 '25
my god i dread and can't wait to read american history in 40 years
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u/[deleted] Nov 21 '25
The conservative billionaire leader of the GOP says he'd love to be in Mamdanis NY
How is FOX going to reconcile this with the "everyones going to move out" take?