A little over two weeks after endorsing his rival on election eve, President Donald Trump will welcome New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to the Oval Office on Nov. 21.

Mamdani, the first Muslim and South Asian to be elected mayor of New York, has been a frequent subject of Trump’s ridicule, often falsely calling the self-described democratic socialist a "communist."

At 34, Mamdani will be the youngest New York mayor in more than a century. Trump, a 79-year-old Gothamite, is the oldest person elected to be commander-in-chief.

Trump endorsed Mamdani’s chief rival, former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, ignoring his own Republican party candidate Curtis Sliwa, in the Nov. 4 election − but the president's seal of approval couldn't prevent Mamdani's victory with more than a million votes.

The high stakes 3pm meeting between billionaire Trump and Mamdani − who has said a fair system wouldn't allow billionaires to exist − could include discussions on affordability, federal funds and infrastructure projects and Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the city. Follow along with the USA TODAY news team for live updates.

Once protesting outside White House, Mamdani gets to Oval Office

Zohran Mamdani protested outside of the White House nearly two years ago.

In December 2023, Mamdani, a state assemblyman, was calling on then-President Joe Biden for a permanent ceasefire of Israel’s siege of Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel in October of that year. In an Instagram post, Mamdani said he and others had just ended a five-day hunger strike. Outside the White House, they read some of the names of those killed, when the death toll stood at 15,207 people, he said.

“Each action gives birth to another, and we leave DC ever more committed to the work of holding our President and our Congress accountable in saving lives,” he said. “See you at the next one.”

Reuters reported the death toll in Gaza is now at over 69,000, according to figures from the Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas. Despite a tentative American-brokered ceasefire under President Donald Trump since October, Palestinians have still been killed by Israeli airstrikes.

Now back in Washington, Mamdani and Trump are set to meet in the Oval Office, though the topic is not expected to touch on Gaza. Instead, Mamdani has indicated the meeting would focus on addressing affordability.

- Eduardo Cuevas

Where is the current NYC mayor?

Eric Adams, the embattled one-term Democratic mayor, has been noticeably absent from the city in recent days.

On Nov. 21, while Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani planned to meet with President Donald Trump, Adams’ public schedule listed him in Uzbekistan to meet with government, business and religious leaders in the Central Asian country. Adams, 65, has been in Uzbekistan for several days, after traveling in Israel. Adams has been out of the country for a week, since Nov. 14, according to his office.

Adams, facing tough re-election prospects, ended his campaign in September. His administration has been mired in scandals, resignations and corruption probes. The mayor had faced federal corruption charges, related to allegedly soliciting and accepting illegal gifts and campaign donations from wealthy foreigners, including the Turkish government. In early 2025, Trump’s Justice Department intervened to get the charges dropped, in exchange for his cooperation on federal immigration enforcement. Earlier, Adams traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump, and later skipping events to attend Trump’s inauguration in Washington, DC. Adams has denied any quid pro quo took place.

Mamdani is set to replace Adams on New Year's Day, leaving Adams out of a job for now.

Trump says he expects 'civil' meeting with Mandani: 'We'll get along fine'

President Donald Trump said Friday he gives New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani credit for running a “good race” and believes “we’ll get along fine” during their afternoon Oval Office meeting.

“Look, we’re looking for the same thing. We want to make New York strong,” Trump said in an interview on the Brian Kilmeade show on Fox News Radio. “And you know, there’s such a different philosophy. But I’ll let you know. I’ll let you know over the next year.”

Trump was asked about Mamdani’s election night speech in which the 34-year-old democratic socialist directed his comments to the president and told Trump, ‘Turn the volume up.”

“He has to be careful when he says that to me,” Trump said, but added that he isn’t sure what Mamdani meant.

"I said, ‘What does that mean? Turn the volume up. Does that mean? Let’s go at it?’” Trump said. “I don’t think so. He was very nice in calling, and we’re going to have a meeting – I guess we meet at 3 o’clock today – and I think it’s going to be quite civil. We’ll find out.”

Ahead of the Nov. 4 election, Trump repeatedly warned he would withhold federal funds if Mamdani, who Trump attacked a “socialist,” won the election.

Trump said he expects to open the face-to-face meeting up to reporters.

“I would think so. He’s a politician, so I don’t think he has a problem. The one thing I notice about politicians is the answer is always, ‘Yes’ – other than with Biden,” Trump said.

-Joey Garrison

Both from Queens, Trump’s childhood neighborhood voted for Mamdani

President Donald Trump’s childhood Queens neighborhood of Jamaica Estates voted heavily for Zohran Mamdani in the Nov. 4 mayoral election.

The affluent, suburban enclave is located in eastern Queens. The precinct including the Trump family’s two-story Tudor-style home, at 85-15 Wareham Place, had a nearly 20-point margin for Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens, according to unofficial New York City Board of Elections results. Mamdani received 56% of votes, compared to 37% for his next closest opponent, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, another Queens native running as an independent who received support from Trump.

Mamdani won around 50.4% of Queens as a whole, compared to 41.6% for Cuomo, which mirrors citywide election results.

Mamdani, 34, and Trump, 79, lived in vastly different versions of Queens, which today is one of the most diverse places in the world. Nearly half of the borough is foreign-born.

Trump’s Jamaica Estates at the time was nearly all White, as the New York Times reported. The neighborhood today is more diverse. City demographics data for the neighborhood and abutting Holliswood, where Cuomo grew up, showed the area was around 32.5% Asian, 24.7% Black, 22.3% White, and 15.4% Hispanic or Latino. Holliswood, another affluent neighborhood, is traditionally more Black and Latino than Jamaica Estates.

- Eduardo Cuevas

Who is Zohran Mamdani?

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, 34, is currently a three-term New York state assemblyman representing parts of Queens. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is set to become the first Muslim mayor and first Asian American mayor in New York City history.

Born in Uganda, Mamdani moved to New York as a child and grew up on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. He is the son of Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani, who is a Ugandan of Indian descent.

The mayor-elect is married to Rama Duwaji, an artist and illustrator. The two, married earlier this year, live in Astoria, Queens.

--Eduardo Cuevas

A year ago, Mamdani talked with Trump supporters. The topic was affordability.

Just over a year ago, Zohran Mamdani went viral on social media for speaking with New Yorkers about why they voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. With microphone in hand, Mamdani went to heavily immigrant, nonwhite working-class neighborhoods in the Bronx and Queens that saw the largest swings toward Trump.

Mamdani asked them about their vote, or if they skipped the ballot box altogether. According to his post, the common theme for their support of Trump was cost of living. Mamdani then asked about the upcoming 2025 mayoral election.

“If there was a candidate talking about freezing the rent, making buses free, making universal child care a reality, are those things that you'd support?” said Mamdani, a not-so-subtle nod to his three-part campaign platform. “Absolutely,” one man told Mamdani, “he would have my vote all day.”

Mamdani has since had a meteoric rise, from polling in single digits, to becoming the city’s next mayor in less than two months. Like Trump, voters will have to see whether Mamdani can lower costs for them. Both, with starkly different approaches, now plan to meet at the White House.

--Eduardo Cuevas

Trump said Mamdani would have 'problems with Washington'

“He is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great City,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Sept. 29. “Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him.”

-Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

Why did Mamdani reach out to White House?

A day before the White House visit, Mamdani explained his reasoning for reaching out to the White House to set up the meeting.

“Because I will work with anyone to make life more affordable for the more than 8.5 million people who call the city home,” he said. “I have many disagreements with the president and I believe that we should be relentless and pursue all avenues and all meetings that could make our city affordable for every single New Yorker.”

Mamdani's campaign promises include free buses, universal childcare and rent freezes on rent stabilized apartments. He has said he'll finance these initiatives by hiking the taxes of the top 1% of income earners ( who earn close to $1 million) and raising corporate taxes.

Mamdani has also said the city’s police officers will not assist ICE in executing federal immigration operations.

--Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

Keeping an open mind to 'do what's right'

“I intend to make it clear to President Trump that I will work with him on any agenda that benefits New Yorkers,” he said on Nov. 19. “ If an agenda hurts New Yorkers, I will also be the first to say so.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the meeting was evidence of Trump's open mind.

“It speaks to the fact that President Trump is willing to meet with anyone and talk to anyone and to try to do what’s right on behalf of the American people whether they live in blue states or red states or blue cities," said Leavitt.

Trump's city of birth and where he built his real estate empire is "becoming much more left than I think this president ever anticipated in his many years of living in New York,” she said.

--Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says he expects a 'civil' meeting with Mamdani: Live updates

Reporting by Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy and Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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