For months, Donald Trump warned New Yorkers against electing Zohran Mamdani as mayor, referring to him as a “ communist lunatic .” Mamdani, meanwhile, called Trump a “despot.”

All of that was put aside in an extraordinary Oval Office get-together Friday, the first face-to-face meeting between the two men.

Trump, who sought to kneecap Mamdani during the campaign, was exceedingly complimentary of the self-described democratic socialist, while Mamdani repeatedly talked up his hope that he and the president could work together to lower costs for New Yorkers.

“I met with a man who’s a very rational person,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office following the private Friday afternoon meeting. “I met with a man who ... really wants to see New York be great again.”

“I’ll really be cheeri

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