DAVID MARCUS: Mr. Mamdani goes to Washington between rock and hard place

New York City’s Mayor-Elect, the socialist Zohran Mamdani is headed down the Acela corridor to conscionable with Friday President Trump astatine the White House, successful what has go 1 of the astir anticipated archetypal meetings since Frazier and Ali astatine Madison Square Garden successful 1971.

So, volition determination beryllium fireworks, if not fisticuffs, erstwhile these 2 men, with nary a bully connection to accidental of the other, marque their acquaintance? I wouldn’t number connected it.

In his latest property circuit quality connected Good Morning America aft becoming mayor-elect of New York City, Zohran Mamdani said helium wouldn’t beryllium "intimidated" by President Donald Trump’s imaginable threats to deploy the National Guard into the Big Apple. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images, Stephani Spindel/VIEWpress)

If we bash spot the patented Trump beryllium down successful the Oval Office with his impermanent and reporters, and if I was Zany Zohran’s team, I would effort hard to debar it, past the stupidest happening that Hizzoner of the Little Red Book could bash is marque an aggravated scene.

Let’s look it, if Mamdani, the 34-year-old theatre kid who has ne'er had a existent job, tries to spell toe-to-toe with Trump, arsenic for example, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zalenskyy famously and unfortunately, erstwhile did, the president volition mop the level with him.

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Not lone does Trump person the astir almighty home-field vantage successful the satellite successful the White House, helium besides doesn’t truly request thing from Mamdani. That's thing that the incoming politician cannot accidental of Trump, who holds the keys to a batch of national wealth that Gotham needs.

A politician is often defined by his archetypal months successful office, and Trump has the quality to marque it precise difficult, with ICE raids and freezes connected national dollars, oregon to springiness the Karl Marx acolyte immoderate runway, possibly adjacent capable enactment to statesman hanging his goofy free-stuff initiatives.

So, determination are plentifulness of reasons for Zohran to flash his winning smile, marque nice, and airs for pictures with 47.

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On the different hand, for Mamdani’s strongest supporters, his socialist base, Trump is not conscionable the carnal embodiment of capitalism, but of fascism, not that they gully a peculiarly agleam enactment betwixt the two.

Zohran can’t truly yuk it up with the president portion maintaining his committedness to beryllium Trump’s worst nightmare. It wouldn’t conscionable marque his chap Democrats consciousness queasy, it would undermine their full existent crushed for existing.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with President Donald Trump successful Washington D.C., connected Aug. 19, 2025.  ( Ukrainian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Democrats, lacking a cohesive individuality astatine the moment, marque up for it by hating Trump. Democrat members of Congress are urging our subject to disobey his orders, Democrats successful Congress walk much clip making anti-Trump TikTok videos than they bash reviewing legislation.

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This is the stone and the hard spot that Mamdani finds himself betwixt connected Friday. If helium is excessively rude to Trump, helium undermines his ain chances to bash the enactment helium wants to bash successful Gotham. If helium is excessively cordial, helium makes his party, its hairsbreadth connected occurrence regular implicit Trump, look foolish.

The wildcard successful each of this, arsenic always, is Trump himself, from whom we could spot a fatherly lecture, mockery of Zohran oregon adjacent the benignant of backhanded praise helium likes to tactically lavish connected his adversaries specified arsenic Vladimir Putin oregon Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney

As Trump enactment it, backmost successful his fateful gathering with Zelenskyy, helium and the White House clasp each the cards.

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL MEET NYC MAYOR-ELECT ZOHRAN MAMDANI THIS WEEK

The past happening to support successful caput astir Friday’s meeting, immoderate its signifier oregon content, is that determination are already immoderate whisperings among Mamdani’s socialist basal that helium is selling them out.

The mayor-elect's determination to support NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch successful spot was a concession to the moderates successful the Democratic Party, arsenic is his connection that "it is not the time," for socialist City Councilman Che Osse to superior House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries successful his Brooklyn district.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., talks with reporters extracurricular the U.S. Capitol astir members information aft the execution of Charlie Kirk connected Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

We person seen this before. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., besides plays it a spot some ways, ne'er rather going arsenic acold arsenic the 'Squad' she leads connected arguable issues, often metaphorically telling them, "You spell ahead, I’ll beryllium close down you."

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Roughly a decennary ago, Trump began a takeover of the Grand Old Party that is present each but complete. Today, Zohran Mamdani is simply a large portion of the socialist effort to bash the aforesaid happening to the Democratic Party.

When The Donald shakes Zohran’s manus connected Friday, nary uncertainty aggressively and for a agelong time, we whitethorn beryllium seeing, for the archetypal time, the versions of our 2 large governmental parties that volition spar implicit the aboriginal of our federation for decades to come.