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Leavitt Rushes to Fox to Spin Trump’s Warm Oval Office Meeting with Mamdani

Karoline Leavitt went on Fox News after President Trump’s Oval Office meeting with NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to portray the encounter as proof of Trump’s openness and leadership. The public exchange, however, showed Trump repeatedly praising Mamdani and sharing friendly photos on Truth Social. Leavitt insisted the warm tone does not indicate a shift toward socialism and said the meeting could lay the groundwork for cooperation. Mamdani, meanwhile, reiterated his affordability-focused agenda for New Yorkers.

01:52 AM, 11/23/2025Politics
Leavitt Rushes to Fox to Spin Trump’s Warm Oval Office Meeting with Mamdani

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared on Fox News the evening after President Donald Trump’s Oval Office meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, seeking to frame the encounter as proof of the president’s openness and leadership.

On Sean Hannity’s program, Leavitt cast the meeting as a demonstration that Trump is "willing to meet with anybody, to sit across the table, to shake hands, look people in the eye, and have discussions on how they can mutually benefit the American public." She stressed Trump’s ties to New York, saying he is a "lifelong New Yorker" who wants the city to thrive.

Public optics vs. the press spin

Viewers of the Oval Office event saw a visibly cordial exchange in which Trump repeatedly praised the 34-year-old Mamdani, at one point even allowing him to call him a "despot" and "fascist" as part of their back-and-forth. After the meeting, Trump posted photos on Truth Social and wrote, "It was a Great Honor meeting Zohran Mamdani, the new Mayor of New York City!" He later told reporter Rachel Scott that Mamdani "couldn’t be nicer" and that they had "good chemistry."

Leavitt acknowledged online criticism from supporters but insisted the interaction does not signal a change in the president’s principles. "Trump is never going to change his values... he’s always going to try to work with others to make this country great," she said, while stressing that cordiality with an opponent is not an embrace of socialism.

"We know, and the president knows and the American people know that nationally, President Trump’s policies work, and capitalism works," Leavitt told Hannity. "President Trump’s economic formula does work. It is working. It worked in his first term."

Mamdani’s response and next steps

Mamdani remained focused on his affordability agenda after leaving the White House. He posted on social media that "working people have been left behind in New York" and noted that "in the wealthiest city in the world, one in five can’t afford $2.90 for the train or bus." He reiterated his commitment to put everyday costs and working people at the center of his politics.

Both sides framed the meeting as potentially opening a path for cooperation — Leavitt described it as laying groundwork for a "good working relationship moving forward," while Mamdani used the moment to highlight his policy priorities. For political observers, the exchange underscored how a single meeting can be read very differently depending on perspective: an example of bipartisan engagement to some, and an awkward optics moment for others.

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