(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani met in the Oval Office Friday discussing topics around affordability and safety in New York City, appearing cordial despite trading barbs for months.
"I just want to congratulate. I think you're going to have hopefully a really great mayor and the better he does, the happier I am," Trump said. "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 and congratulations, Mr. mayor."
Mamdani said: "It was a productive meeting focused on a place of shared admiration and love, which is New York City and the need to deliver affordability to New Yorkers."
Trump and Mamdani appeared cordial and shook hands after the roughly 25-minute closed-door talk -- and both said they agreed on a lot.
Their friendly news conference differed from the months of insults, harsh rhetoric and even threats that were lobbed at each other as Mamdani rose from an unknown state assemblyman from Queens to the leader-elect of one of the biggest cities in the world.
Trump repeatedly called Mamdani -- a self-described democratic socialist -- a "communist" as late as Thursday.
After the meeting on Friday, Trump predicted that Mamdani would be a great leader for the city and said he's going to surprise "some conservative people."
"I think this mayor could do some things that are going to be really great," the president said.
Mamdani, who in the past has called Trump a despot and a fascist and criticized his conservative policies, said, after the meeting, that he and the president were focused on ensuring the 8.5 million New York City residents could live without worrying about affording their basic needs, such as rent.
"What I really appreciate about the president is that the meeting that we had focused not on places of disagreement, which there are many, and also focused on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers," he said.
Trump and Mamdani's previous bad blood was brought up during the news conference and both leaders appeared to put their animosity behind them.
When a reporter asked Mamdani if he still considers Trump a fascist, the president stepped in with a joke before taking another question.
"That's OK, you can just say, 'Yes,'" Trump said as he patted Mamdani on the back with a laugh. "It's easier. It's easier than explaining it."
In the past, the president threatened to withhold federal funding if Mamdani was elected and to send federal agents into the city to tackle crime. Mamdani has also been critical of ICE's expanded raids and the administration's surge in deportations.
Mamdani and Trump said that crime was discussed during their meeting.
"We discussed ICE and New York City, and I spoke about how the laws that we have in New York City," Mamdani said, adding that New Yorkers have concerns about immigration enforcement as well as tackling serious crimes.
Later, Trump said of Mamdani: "He wants to see no crime. He wants to see housing being built. He wants to see rents coming down. All the things that I agree with. Now, we may disagree how we get there."
The president's approval for Mamdani's proposals went so far that he said he would feel "very comfortable" living in New York City as a billionaire.
"Yeah, I would, I really would, especially after the meeting," Trump said. "We agree on a lot more than I would have thought. I want him to do a great job, and we'll help him do a great job."
Mamdani's critics have expressed skepticism that his progressive proposals, such as free city buses, free child care and freezing the rent for rent-stabilized units, could actually pass.
The mayor-elect said he talked with Trump about President Franklyn D. Roosevelt's New Deal and how that benefited Americans during the Great Depression.
Trump showed Mamdani a portrait of FDR during their talk.
"One thing I also appreciated in our meeting [was] to appreciate a portrait of FDR and the incredible work that was done with the New Deal, and also in thinking about what it can look like when the federal government and New York City government work together to deliver on affordability. It can be transformative," Mamdani said.
Trump expressed gratitude for the meeting and indicated that he will work more closely with the mayor-elect in the future.
"There will be topics that we disagree on. I think we'll probably come to a conclusion and, ultimately, he'll convince me or I'll convince him," Trump said. "You know, it's for the good of New York. Ultimately, it's for the good of New York. I don't care about, affiliations or parties or anything else. I want to see if this city could be unbelievable. If he could be a spectacular success, I'd be very happy that we excel."