Zohran Mamdani posts video of Trump nodding as he says 'working people were left behind' in NY

WASHINGTON, DC: New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has shared an 18-second clip from his Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, showing him fielding reporters’ questions.

In the video, Trump nods along as Mamdani tells reporters that "working people were left behind" in the city’s politics during his campaign. Read on to see what else Mamdani said in the video and how Trump responded.

Mamdani shares clip of Trump nodding at his take on working-class struggles

Zohran Mamdani posted a video showing President Trump nodding in agreement during their Oval Office meeting.

In the clip, Mamdani told reporters during his campaign, "what we found, time and again, is that working people were left behind in the politics of our city, and what we’re looking to do is put those people right back at the heart of our politics."

He added, "So that we don’t have a situation where we’re in the wealthiest city in the history of the world, and yet one in five can’t even afford $2.90 for a Metro card."

Mamdani made the remarks in response to a Newsmax correspondent who asked, "Democrats have run New York City for a long time … do you see Democrat policy specifically as being a problem?"

To which Mamdani replied, “Look, I think that there are many things in our city where we have to own the responsibility of it, things that existed long before the president was the president, and those are also part of the message of our campaign, was to take on a broken politics of the past."

He concluded, "And I ran against a number of candidates who represented different versions of that past."

After their meeting on Friday afternoon November 21, Mamdani and Trump emerged with an unexpected agreement to work together on housing, food prices, and the cost of living, issues both have highlighted to appeal to working-class voters.

Trump praises Mamdani, pledges cooperation after Oval Office meeting

“We agreed a lot more than I would have thought,” Trump said in the Oval Office, often stepping in to shield Mamdani from tough questions from the press.

Many had expected a tense meeting, especially after months of harsh rhetoric in which Trump had called Mamdani a “communist lunatic.”

Instead, the session showed camaraderie, warm exchanges, and concrete pledges of cooperation between the Republican president and the self-described democratic socialist, who won a decisive victory in early November with over 50% of the vote.

“I feel very confident that he can do a very good job,” Trump said after the meeting. “The better he does, the happier I am. I will say 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.”

During the press exchange, Mamdani also highlighted a painting of former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the White House.

“One thing I also appreciated is in our meeting to appreciate a portrait of FDR, and the incredible work that was done with the New Deal, and also in thinking about what it can look like when the federal government and New York City government work together to deliver affordability, it can be transformative.”

Trump added that he had chosen the “great portrait of FDR” for the cabinet room he re-decorated. “When the mayor saw that portrait, he said, ‘Sir, can I take a picture by that? It’s an amazing portrait.’”