Donald Trump agrees to meet Zohran Mamdani - but still makes a dig
United States President Donald Trump has agreed to meet with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani later this week.
However, in true Trump fashion, he couldn't help but make a dig at Mamdani, who is set to become the city’s most liberal mayor in generations, in his social media announcement post.
Now, Trump's made it no secret that he isn't a fan of Mamdani, who recently made history after becoming the city's first Muslim mayor, the first of South Asian heritage, and the first born in Africa.
Prior to Mamdani's win, Trump had previously threatened to withhold funding from the Big Apple if he were to be elected.
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Writing on Truth Social at the time, he declared: "Self-proclaimed New York City Communist, Zohran Mamdani, who is running for Mayor, will prove to be one of the best things to ever happen to our great Republican Party.
"He is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great City. Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfil all of his FAKE Communist promises.
"He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him? This ideology has failed, always, for thousands of years. It will fail again, and that’s guaranteed!"
Trump's repeated mistake
He also stated back in June that Mamdani was 'a 100% Communist Lunatic' - both above statements of which are completely factually incorrect. Quite ironic, really, considering Trump's obsession with his signature phrase 'fake news'.
Taking to Truth Social earlier today (20 November), Trump announced: "Communist Mayor of New York City, Zohran 'Kwame' Mamdani, has asked for a meeting.
"We have agreed that this meeting will take place at the Oval Office on Friday, November 21st. Further details to follow!"
Now, this is far from the first time the 79-year-old Republican has got the newly-elected New York mayor's political ideology wrong - despite the fact Mamdani himself has corrected the continuous mistake on a number of occasions now.
Mamdani has previously told NBC News that he is not a communist, despite repeated false claims from his opposition.The 34-year-old is actually a self-proclaimed democratic socialist.
Why does Trump keep calling Mamdani a communist?
In his victory speech earlier this month (4 November), Mamdani - who has called for making transportation, housing and groceries more affordable - declared to a roaring crowd: "The conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate.
"I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologise for any of this."
Additionally, experts have outlined that Mamdani hasn’t adopted key tenets of communism, such as government takeover of industry and private property.
"Mamdani is NOT a communist," wrote Anna Grzymala-Busse, Stanford University professor of international studies, in an email to PolitiFact.
"Communism involves a centrally planned economy, with no market forces. Prices and quantities are set by a central government authority. There is no democratic political competition, and instead, a single party rules the country. He is not calling for any of this."
Some Republicans often use the misleading claim that Democrats are communists or sympathisers of communism as a political attack.
This 'red scare' tactic has long been a feature of US politics but has been revived in recent years, partly due to the growing visibility and success of democratic socialists such as Senator Bernie Sanders.
Democratic socialism explained
Back in June, Mamdani explained to CNN what democratic socialism actually is.
"I think ultimately, the definition for me of why I call myself a democratic socialist is the words of Dr [Martin Luther] King decades ago. He said, 'call it democracy or call it democratic socialism. There must be a better distribution of wealth for all of god’s children in this country'," he said.
"And that’s what I’m focused on, is dignity and taking on income inequality. And for too long, politicians have pretended that we’re spectators to that crisis of affordability. We’re actually actors, and we have the choice to exacerbate it, like Mayor Adams has done, or to respond to it and resolve it like I’m planning to do."
Communism, as outlined in Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx's seminal 1848 text The Communist Manifesto, envisions a class struggle in which private property and the means of production are collectively owned for the public good.
Democratic socialism, by contrast, rejects the idea of class warfare and seeks to achieve socialist objectives through democratic and electoral processes.
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Zohran Mamdani, News
Rhiannon Ingle