‘Like a Fiddle’: Mamdani Stuns With Image of Ecstatic Trump From Their Meeting

Photo by: NDZ/STAR MAX/IPx 2025 11/5/25  via AP

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday and later posted a photo to social media of Trump beaming with joy while holding up two props the mayor apparently brought for him.

Mamdani posted the photo showing Trump smiling and holding up two different mock New York Daily News covers – one with the headline, “Trump to City: Let’s Build” and another that read, “Ford to the City: Drop Dead.”

Mamdani captioned the image, “I had a productive meeting with President Trump this afternoon. I’m looking forward to building more housing in New York City.” AP White House correspondent Seung Min Kim added some color to what was discussed, reporting, “Last time the two met, Trump asked him to return with ideas to build big things. Mamdani came back with a massive housing proposal. Mamdani’s team created mock headlines to show Trump how such a project would be received. He was ‘very enthusiastic.'”

Journalists and observers were quick to praise Mamdani’s ability to make Trump happy, which was also on display during their first meeting, which saw the two leaders praise each other.

“Not seen such a vivid display of graduate-level Trumpology since @maggieNYT dined alone,” wrote Politico’s Jonathan Martin of the image – referring to Maggie Haberman, who was widely viewed as the “Trump whisperer” during his first term.

The Bulwark’s Sam Stein captioned the image, “like a fiddle.”

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