Donald Trump branded a fascist to his face by Zohran Mamdani

The much-hyped showdown between Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani and Donald Trump was astonishing – but not for any of the reasons people expected

Donald Trump was branded a fascist to his face by the Mayor-elect of New York – and he sat there and smiled. Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist raised many eyebrows by confirming yesterday he planned to visit the White House for an audience with Trump.

The pair met behind closed doors, but invited the media into the Oval Office for an extraordinary ‘spray’ with the media, taking questions from reporters. The pair struck a cordial tone, far from the bitter confrontation between Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in February that many feared would be repeated. And there was little sign of the inflammatory rhetoric Trump and his allies have deployed against Mamdani in recent months.

Mamdani was, of course, asked about comments he’s made in recent weeks, describing Trump as a “despot” and a “fascist.” Trump joked: “I’ve been called worse than a despot. That’s not much of an insult.”

Asked to confirm whether he thinks President Trump is a fascist, Mamdani began speaking about what they’d discussed in the meeting. But Trump interrupted, laughing and saying: “That’s OK, you can just say it. It’s easier than explaining.” Mamdani turned back to the reporter and said: “OK. Yes, then.”

Trump showered Mamdani with praise during the event – which will come as a surprise to many Republicans. Trump had branded Mamdani a “communist” and a disaster for New York City, even threatening to cut off Federal funding for his home town should Mamdani win the election earlier this month. And Republicans had been planning to campaign on Democrats being “the party of Mamdani”.

“We agree on a lot more than I would have thought,” he said, adding later. “I met with a man who is a very rational person. I met with a man who wants to Make New York Great.”

Trump said: “He said some things that were very interesting and very interesting as to housing construction and he wants to see houses go up and apartments created. People would be shocked. I want to see the same thing.”

Mamdani, for his part, returned to three themes during his remarks. He spoke about housebuilding – an easy route to common ground with a former property developer – and the cost of living, an issue that Trump has struggled to get a grip on since promising so much about it during his election campaign. Finally, Mamdani repeatedly referenced voters in New York who had backed Trump in 2024, explaining how he encouraged them to vote for him in the Mayoral election.