Mamdani continues to build his team and agenda as he gets set to take over City Hall on January 1. Now, what seemed like an administration that would clash deeply with the White House may have found some cooperation.
"I'm feeling good coming out of that meeting. I thought it was a productive meeting. And I appreciated that in that meeting it went back to cost of living, cost of living cost of living," said Mamdani.
That meeting -- with the president in the oval office, has Mayor-Elect Mamdani answering questions this weekend about how it seemed to go so well with a president he's called a despot, who's called him a communist.
Mamdani told reporters outside a Bronx Church that the two did speak about topics like immigration and public safety, and that he's hopeful the Trump administration will continue to let the NYPD continue to handle fighting crime.
"I told the president that the cornerstone of an affordability agenda is public safety. And that it is critically important. And for all that has been said, and all that has been spoken about, and the tens of millions of dollars looking to make New Yorkers fearful of that question, the truth of it is that I'm looking forward to working with the NYPD to deliver on that. And I shared with the president that my decision to retain police commissioner Jessica Tisch is in large part recognition of the fact that in her time at the NYPD, she has driven down crime across the five boroughs," added Mamdani.
His interview on NBC's Meet The Press aired Sunday morning as he received a blessing at Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church in the Bronx...
The mayor elect delivered what sounded a little like a campaign speech to the congregation, pledging to deliver on those campaign promises.
"I will become mayor in 39 days. And over the days between today and January first and every day that follows, my responsibility is to work. It is to work with anyone to build a city government that can deliver not only on this agenda but to fulfill the faith that has been put in it. A faith that had many had long lost in or politics," he said.
As Mamdani answered questions about that conversation with Trump, he shared that he and the president looked at portraits of past presidents at the White House, including FDR., Mamdani says he took that opportunity to tell the president that Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia would not have accomplished all he did without the backing of a fellow New Yorker in the White House.
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