Trump could use same ‘tool of retribution’ against Mamdani as he did Kamala Harris, Letitia James

President Trump’s ability to work with Zohran Mamdani will be put to the test as the White House sets up a meeting with New York City’s mayor-elect.

President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani have made it no secret that they are not fond of each other, but their ability to work together will soon be put to the test. Trump told reporters on Sunday that the White House is coordinating with Mamdani’s team for an upcoming meeting.

“The mayor of New York, I will say, would like to meet with us, and we’ll work something out. But he would like to come to Washington and meet, and we’ll work something out. We want to see everything work out well for New York,” said Trump.

The president, who has not been shy about ridiculing Democratic leaders, has repeatedly called Mamdani a “communist” and suggested that the 34-year-old mayor will be “so bad” for his birthplace of New York City.

In addition to his yet-to-be-scheduled meeting with Mamdani, Trump will soon have to decide whether to grant Zohran Mamdani a federal security clearance, which the mayor-elect is currently being screened for by federal law enforcement.

As Politico reports, not being granted security clearance will make it “difficult” to serve as mayor, given the level of threats to New York City, which is the largest city in the country.

“Denying it would be unusual and more impactful than any of the other revocations that the administration has done,” John Sandweg, a former acting general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, told Politico.

As the outlet points out, Trump has used the authority of granting security clearances as a “tool of retribution” against his perceived political enemies, including former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and several others.

The presidential action on March 22, 2025, prohibits the former government officials from receiving classified briefings and classified information held by any member of the federal intelligence community.

Mamdani, a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist, has not been shy about his condemnation of Trump, whom he described as a “despot” who is part of a “culture of corruption.”

However, in an interview with NBC New York, Mamdani said he would be “proactive” with the Trump White House in an effort to avoid the deployment of ICE agents and national guard troops amid the president’s mass immigration and law enforcement campaigns in Democratically-controlled and majority Black and brown cities.

“I will be reaching out to the White House as we prepare to actually take office because this is a relationship that will be critical to the success of the city,” said Mamdani.