It was funny, in hindsight, seeing how excited Republicans were before the meeting between President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

“Mamdani is acting like he is the kingpin of Gotham calling out Trump for a showdown,” one right-wing influencer wrote on X after Mamdani’s election night victory speech. “He is about to find out.”

As a result, conservatives expected one of Trump’s vintage public beatdowns, like the one he delivered to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, exemplified by this Fox News treatment:

Instead, Trump rolled out the red carpet for Mamdani, greeting him with smiles, jokes, and an eagerness that stood in stark contrast to months of GOP saber-rattling.

Mamdani pressed him on the affordability crisis hammering New Yorkers—rent, groceries

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