It was humorous, in hindsight, seeing how excited Republicans have been earlier than the assembly between President Donald Trump and New York Metropolis Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
“Mamdani is acting like he is the kingpin of Gotham calling out Trump for a showdown,” one right-wing influencer wrote on X after Mamdani’s election night time victory speech. “He is about to find out.”
As a substitute, Trump rolled out the crimson carpet for Mamdani, greeting him with smiles, jokes, and an eagerness that stood in stark distinction to months of GOP saber-rattling.
Mamdani pressed him on the affordability disaster hammering New Yorkers—lease, groceries, and utilities—and pushed for commitments that Trump, remarkably, entertained with out hesitation, together with not withholding federal funding for the town.
Trump even praised Mamdani, saying that he wished to “help” and even admitted that they had “a lot more in common than I would’ve thought.”
The entire change performed out much less like a tense conflict than a weirdly heat assembly, with Trump visibly intent on successful him over.
New York Metropolis Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump are seen within the Oval Workplace on Nov. 21.
When a reporter requested Mamdani about calling Trump a fascist, Mamdani began to bop across the query till Trump minimize in with a genuinely humorous, “You could just say yes.”
Home Republicans’ marketing campaign arm had already launched digital adverts throughout 49 battleground districts, casting Democrats as followers of the “socialist mayor” who “built his movement on defunding the police and abolishing ICE.”
The spot tried to fuse Mamdani to Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries—who endorsed him late within the race—and warned ominously that “your city could be next.”
Senate Republicans eagerly jumped on the bandwagon too, declaring that they’d struggle the “socialism [that] now controls the Democrat Party.”
In the meantime, GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York insisted, “I don’t think there’s any question he will be on the ballot next November. This is something that will certainly play in New York, but I think you’ll see it across the country.”
After which there’s the star-crossed GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who has been screwed over by Trump time and time once more. Her complete uphill marketing campaign for governor was constructed on claiming that present Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul was a puppet of “jihadist” Mamdani.
GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who tried—and miserably failed—to cease the election of Mamdani.
Now all of these Republicans are left with egg on their face. They spent weeks portray Mamdani because the socialist boogeyman who would drag Democrats down with him, just for their very own celebration chief to reward him. These photographs of Trump beaming beside Mamdani did extra harm to the GOP narrative than any Democratic rebuttal ever might.
Attempt to make Mamdani a marketing campaign problem now—they usually’ll nonetheless strive, in fact—and all Democrats need to do is level to Trump’s personal phrases. The entire assault collapses below the load of Trump’s grin.
Stefanik, for her half, placed on a courageous face.
She was already going to lose subsequent yr—with or with out Mamdani—working in one of many bluest states. However now she’s misplaced your entire premise of her marketing campaign: tying Hochul to the “jihadist” mayor-elect. Even her defiance feels performative, as if she is aware of the script has modified and he or she’s caught delivering strains from the flawed play.
And for the remainder of the GOP? It’s uncertain Republicans might have squeezed a lot mileage out of 1 mayor, irrespective of how large New York Metropolis is. Voters aren’t within the temper for culture-war theatrics when their lease retains climbing and their grocery payments double.
Now Republicans are sinking tens of millions into the December particular election in Tennessee’s seventh Congressional District—which Trump received 60% to 38% in 2024—as a result of even in certainly one of their strongest districts, they don’t really feel secure after Mamdani’s win. That panic says way more in regards to the GOP’s inner collapse than any fictional risk posed by New York Metropolis’s mayor.
A cartoon by Nick Anderson.
Their complete technique collapses below the best take a look at: If the monster doesn’t scare folks in Tennessee’s reddest district as we speak, he’s not going to scare anybody in 2026.
However all of that’s moot as a result of Trump is now mates with Mamdani, proving as soon as once more that Trump doesn’t give a rattling about his celebration—or actually something apart from himself. The GOP spent months portray Mamdani because the face of socialist doom, and Trump casually torched your entire technique in a single photo-op..
The assembly knocked Epstein off the airwaves for the weekend, and to Trump, that alone made the entire thing worthwhile—irrespective of how a lot political shrapnel his celebration will take within the months and years to return.
And who is aware of, possibly Trump genuinely likes Mamdani. Possibly he loved the assembly. Possibly he noticed somebody who wasn’t afraid of him and located that refreshing. And if that’s the case, then the GOP is in even deeper bother.
Republicans can map out no matter 2026 technique they need, however none of it issues if Trump wakes up one morning and decides he likes the man they’ve spent months attempting to show right into a nationwide villain.
