White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt took aim at New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Thursday, branding him “a communist” ahead of his scheduled visit to the White House on Friday.
“It speaks volumes that tomorrow we have a communist coming to the White House because that’s who the Democrat Party elected as the mayor of the largest city in the country,” Leavitt told reporters during a press briefing, as quoted by The Hill.
“I think it’s very telling,” she continued, “but I also think it speaks to the fact that President Trump is willing to meet with anyone and talk to anyone and to try to do what is right on behalf of the American people, whether they live in blue states or red states or blue cities and a city that is coming much more left than this president ever anticipated in his many years of living in New York himself.”
Trump announced on Wednesday that he has agreed to meet with Mamdani. In a post on Truth Social, Trump pointed out that the meeting had been requested by Mamdani, whom he called a “Communist”.
“Communist Mayor of New York City, Zohran ‘Kwame’ Mamdani, has asked for a meeting. We have agreed that this meeting will take place at the Oval Office on Friday, November 21st. Further details to follow!” wrote Trump.
In an interview with NBC New York last week, Mamdani said he would be initiating contact with the White House, saying, “I will be reaching out to the White House as we prepare to actually take office because this is a relationship that will be critical to the success of the city.”
Mamdani won the mayoral election earlier this month, defeating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Mamdani is notorious for his anti-Israel actions, including his criticism of Israel on October 8, 2023 - just one day after the Hamas massacre in southern Israel, as well as his refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada”.
He has repeatedly accused Israel of war crimes in its battle against Hamas in Gaza, and has vowed to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York City.
One day before the election, Trump endorsed Cuomo in the race, warning that New York City would face severe federal funding cuts if Mamdani were to win the election.
In July, Trump vowed that he would not let "communist lunatic" Mamdani "destroy New York".
After Mamdani’s victory, Trump suggested in an interview with Fox News that the Mayor-elect “should be very nice to me”.
Asked whether he saw Mamdani’s victory speech, Trump replied, “Yeah, I thought it was a very angry speech, certainly angry toward me. And I think he should be very nice to me. You know, I'm the one that sort of has to approve a lot of things coming to him. So he's off to a bad start.”