Trump's ‘obviously in love with Mamdani’, Nicolle Wallace says after Oval Office meeting

WASHINGTON, DC: MS NOW’s Nicolle Wallace couldn't believe her eyes on Friday, November 21, after watching President Donald Trump shower praises on New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani like a proud father.

Wallace was processing the spectacle live on air and couldn’t help but note the gush factor. “Even with Putin, Trump didn’t go on for as long where he lavished that much praise, affection, and admiration on anyone,” she told Molly Jong-Fast, host of the 'Fast Politics' podcast. 

Trump vows to support Mamdani 

During their highly anticipated Oval Office meeting, Donald Trump congratulated his longtime critic on the mayoral win.

“The better he does, the happier I am, I will say,” the POTUS declared. “There’s no difference in party, there’s no difference in anything. And we’re going to be helping him to make everybody’s dream come true, having a strong and very safe New York. And congratulations, Mr Mayor.”

It's worth noting that Mamdani labeled Trump a “despot” in his election victory speech. Trump’s own spokeswoman billed the mayor-elect's visit as a “communist coming to the White House.”

But in the Oval Office, the two men seemed to agree on several things, especially the skyrocketing cost of living in the Big Apple. The smiles were flowing, and Trump even chuckled as reporters probed Mamdani about his earlier remarks.

Molly Jong-Fast offers a theory

Molly Jong-Fast offered her two cents on Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani's interaction. According to her, Trump is not smitten, but strategic.

She said the president clocked Mamdani’s rising popularity and his economics-focused message and wanted in on the action. Trump “wants to get on that affordability train," she insisted.

“He sees his numbers. He knows inflation is plaguing him. I mean, maybe I’m ascribing too much sort of political acumen to him," Jong-Fast added.

The polling backs up her theory. A fresh Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Trump's own Republican base cooling off on support for him, sliding from an 87% approval rating earlier in the month to 82%. That slippage might have been an incentive for Trump's conduct.

On the other hand, Jong-Fast gave Mamdani his flowers. “I think that it speaks to the talent, the political talent, the raw political talent that Zohran has, that he can go in and sit there and just make this guy his greatest cheerleader," she gushed. “But I also wonder if he’s trying to get on that, you know, he ran as a populist. He said he was going to make things cheaper.”

Nicolle Wallace believes Trump 'seemed committed to honoring Mamdani’s credibility'

Nicolle Wallace wasn’t buying the coincidence angle. To her, Trump was watching Mamdani’s poll numbers like a hawk.

“So Trump is endorsing Cuomo, is flipping Adams, or whatever the hell he did, with the Adams criminal bribery case at DOJ,” she said. “And I wonder how those lawyers feel about ruining their integrity to spring Adams, when Trump was obviously in love with Mamdani the whole time.”

According to Wallace, Mamdani had Trump so dialed in that the president was practically begging for more.

“And the guy is sitting there saying, ‘You can call me a fascist or despot, you just answer the question,’” she noted, adding, “I’ve never seen him sort of care for his children, his vice president, or his cabinet’s credibility the way he seemed committed to honoring Mamdani’s credibility.”