A meeting between Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani has surprised some political commentators with how friendly it seemed.
The president and New York City's mayor elect met at the Oval Office for a meeting that looked favourable to many, including talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who joked that Trump may prefer Mamdani to his own administration. Speaking in the opening monologue of Jimmy Kimmel Live, the 58-year-old suggested Trump was won over by Mamdani.
He said, "After weeks of painting Mamdani as the fourth horseman of the apocalypse, they didn't know what to do with themselves. This is how upside down this crop of MAGA-teers is. They're mad at Trump, some of them are furious at Trump, because he was friendly with the new mayor of New York.
"Last week he had a big celebratory dinner for the Saudi Prince, whose goons dismembered a columnist for the Washington Post. No problem. This? Too much. I've got news for you guys, anybody who's surprised that Trump got along with Mamdani, you should not be surprised. Trump loves when famous people come to visit."
Mamdani and Trump were seen smiling together in the White House, with the president admitting he had more in common with the Democrat mayor's policies than first thought. Trump said, "We agree on a lot more than I would have thought."
Kimmel would go on to say "big star" Mamdani had won the president over because Trump had looked at who was in his cabinet. The talk show host imagined a scenario where Trump had "looked over at the corner" while shaking Mamdani's hand, and saw JD Vance and various members of the Trump administration.
Kimmel said, "Trump now looks over in the corner, he sees JD Vance. All sweaty and eager. Looks away, he sees Stephen Miller, sucking on his pinkies and he looks around at all these weird, unattractive, AI-generated human vomits in his office and is like, 'Why can't I have this Mamdani around?'"
The talk show host went on to describe the surprisingly friendly meeting between Trump and Mamdani as the "classic opposites attract love story".
Mamdani would say of his meeting with Trump, "It was a productive meeting focused on a shared admiration and love which is New York City, and the need to deliver affordability to New Yorkers, the 8.5 million people who call our city their home, who are struggling to afford life in the most expensive city in the United States of America."