New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Friday. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

New Yorkers know better than to be overly positive.

A day after Zohran Mamdani got a surprisingly warm reception at the White House from President Donald Trump, who has spent the last few months deriding the New York City mayor-elect as a “lunatic” and falsely labeling him a communist, New Yorkers told CNN they were cautiously optimistic and slightly impressed.

“I really don’t like the guy, but I’m glad that he was able to go in there and do a good job with the president,” John Lani told CNN Saturday following a mid-morning run in Central Park. “Maybe we’ll get some funding, we won’t shut down congestion pricing. Maybe we’ll get some stuff

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