Mamdani Asked If He Still Thinks Trump Is A ‘Fascist’ And A ‘Despot’

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While the president changed his tune as to how he views Zohran Mamdani, the New York City Mayor-elect, on “Meet the Press” with moderator Kristen Welker, said that he still believes Donald Trump is a “fascist” and a “despot.” We agree!

“In that press conference with President Trump, a reporter asked you whether you believe that President Trump is, in fact, a fascist, a word that you’ve used in the past,” Welker said. “You were about to answer, then President Trump sort of jumped in and he said, quote, that’s okay, you can just say yes, it’s easier than explaining it. So Mr. Mayor-elect, just to be very clear, do you think that President Trump is a fascist?”

“And after President Trump said that, I said yes,” Mamdani said.

“So you do?” Welker said as if that needed any clarification.

“And that’s something that I’ve said in the past, I say it today,” the mayor-elect said. “And I think what I appreciated about the conversation that I had with the president was that we were not shy about the places of disagreement about the politics that has brought us to this moment. And we also wanted to focus on what it could look like to deliver on a shared analysis of an affordability crisis for New Yorkers.”

“You’ve also said in the past that President Trump has engaged in a, quote, attack on our democracy,” Welker said. “You’ve called him a despot. “Do you still believe President Trump is a threat to the democracy?”

“Something that I’ve said in the past, I continue to believe,” Mamdani replied. “And that’s the thing that I think is important in our politics, is that we don’t shy away from where we have disagreements, but we understand what it is that brings us to that table.”

“Because I’m not coming into the Oval Office to make a point or make a stand, I’m coming in there to deliver for New Yorkers,” he continued. “And a few weeks ago, I was asked by a reporter three words to describe myself. I said, New York City.”

“How do we deliver for the people of New York City?” he said.

“I think that some of your supporters would be curious to know, you say you stand by your past statements that, yes, he’s a threat to the democracy,” Welker pushed on. “How do you square working with someone who you still think is a threat to the democracy?”

“I think working for the people of New York City demands that you work with everyone and anyone and that you always look to find those areas of agreement while not overlooking the places of disagreement,” Mamdani responded. “And I think this was something that came up in our meeting. We spoke about immigration. We spoke about the fact that in New York City, we have sanctuary city policies that allow for the city to work with the federal government on around 170 serious crimes.”

And just like that, Trump changed his mind about deploying the National Guard to New York City, saying on Saturday that other American cities “need it more” right now.