'He seems to feel an emotional connection': Trump has been messaging Mamdani for weeks

Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani have been exchanging "friendly" text messages. This was initially reported by Axios, which noted that the president and the new mayor of New York City communicate at least twice a week. The exchange began after the two met at the White House on November 21.

During the mayoral campaign, Mamdani referred to Trump as a "fascist" and a "despot." For his part, the president called for a vote for Andrew Cuomo to prevent a "communist" who would be very damaging to the Big Apple. However, the relationship has improved significantly since that face-to-face meeting.

According to The New York Post, which also confirmed the existence of the conversations, their contents are much deeper than expected. "From the toppling of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and zoning red tape in Big Apple real estate, according to sources," they noted.

Andrew Kirtzman, chief executive of strategic communications firm KSX, told the NYP that Trump feels much closer to Mamdani than to the city's last progressive mayor, Bill de Blasio.

"He hated de Blasio, the last left-wing mayor, and probably felt estranged from the city because of it. He seems to feel an emotional connection with Mamdani. The mayor must be totally amazed by what's happening. I think the left understands this is purely transactional from Mamdani's perspective," he said.

The meeting that changed the dynamic between Trump and Mamdani

After months of back-and-forth attacks on social media, Trump and Mamdani met on Nov. 21 in the Oval Office.

"We just had a great meeting, a really good and very productive 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," Trump told reporters after the meeting ended.

One of the most viral moments of the meeting was when a reporter asked Mamdani about his past comments about Trump, particularly when he called him a "fascist." When the mayor-elect started to respond, the president stopped him and said, "It's OK, you can say yes. It's easier than explaining it." Thereupon, he slapped him on the arm a couple of times.

Finally, Trump singled out Mamdani and assured that the two would work together to achieve a "great New York. "I think this mayor could do some things that are gonna be really great," he concluded.