US President Donald Trump has called New York City’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani a “100 per cent communist lunatic” and a “total nut job” while Mamdani has called Trump’s administration “authoritarian” and described himself as “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare”.
So their first-ever meeting, scheduled for 3pm on Friday (7am AEDT on Saturday) at the White House, could be a curious and combustible affair.
Despite months of casting each other as prime adversaries, the Republican president and new Democratic star have also indicated an openness to finding areas of agreement that help the city they have both called home.
Trump, in a Fox News Radio interview on Friday morning, said he expected the meeting will be “quite civil”.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist who takes office in January, said he sought the meeting with Trump to talk about ways to make New York City more affordable.
Trump has said he may want to help him out.
But for both men, the meeting offers opportunities beyond any areas of potential bipartisan agreement.
The two men are convenient political foils for each other, and taking the other one on can galvanise their supporters.
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