Charlamagne Warns Mamdani’s ‘I Can Work With a Fascist’ Message Risks Normalizing Fascism

Radio host Charlamagne tha God sharply criticized New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani for publicly framing how he would relate to President Donald Trump after the two held a cordial meeting. Charlamagne argued on Mediaite’s "Press Club with Colby Hall" podcast that describing Trump as a fascist while saying you can "work with" him undermines the gravity of the charge and risks normalizing authoritarian language.

"Or if you, Zohran Mamdani, and you say, Donald Trump is a fascist, but then you’re saying you can work with a fascist. And I’m like, well, that’s not how fascism works. Never in the history of mankind has somebody worked with a fascist, and it’s worked — like, that’s actually how you normalize fascism. What that does is, number one, it makes those words mean absolutely nothing," Charlamagne said.

The exchange followed a public moment during the meeting when reporters asked Mamdani whether he believed the president was a fascist. As Mamdani began to answer, President Trump interjected: "That’s OK, you can just say yes." Mamdani replied, "OK, all right."

On NBC News's "Meet the Press," host Kristen Welker asked Mamdani directly whether he considered Trump a fascist. Mamdani said he had answered "yes" after the president's prompt and reaffirmed that labeling Trump a fascist is a position he has expressed previously and maintains today. At the same time, Mamdani described the White House meeting as "productive."

Charlamagne’s critique centers on the political and rhetorical consequences of using stark terminology while simultaneously signaling a willingness to cooperate with leaders who are labeled with those terms. Critics say that such mixed messaging can desensitize the public to serious accusations and blunt accountability. The Hill has reached out to Mamdani’s transition team and the Biden White House for comment.

Why it matters: The exchange highlights tensions about how elected officials and public figures should use charged political labels, and whether conciliatory gestures after identifying threats to democracy help or hinder public understanding and accountability.