President Donald Trump disagreed with Rep. Elise Stefanik‘s (R-NY) calling New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani a “jihadist” during the pair’s first meeting at the White House on Friday.
“Mr. President Republican, Elise Stefanik has campaigned multiple times by calling Zohran Mamdani a jihadist. Do you think you’re standing next to a jihadist right now in the Oval Office?” a reporter asked Trump.
“No, I don’t,” Trump responded. “But she’s out there campaigning, and you say things sometimes in a campaign; she’s a very capable person.”
The comments were an about-face for Trump, who has repeatedly taken to social media to attack Mamdani as bad for New York throughout the mayoral race.
“You really have to ask her about that,” Trump said, referring to Stefanik. “I met with a man who’s a very rational person. met with a man who … really wants to see New York be great again. And I can say again, because New York was great.”
Stefanik, a Jewish Republican running for New York governor, has slammed Mamdani as a “jihadist” for his views on the Israel-Hamas conflict. She later pushed back against Trump’s praise of Mamdani.
“We all want NYC to succeed. But we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one,” Stefanik said in a statement. “If he walks like a jihadist, if he talks like a jihadist, if he campaigns like a jihadist, if he supports jihadists, he’s a jihadist. And he’s Kathy Hochul’s jihadist.”
Mamdani, a Muslim lawmaker, is unabashedly pro-Palestinian and a critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mamdani has said he would honor the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu if the prime minister visits New York, to the ire of staunch Israel supporters.
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY)’s campaign slammed Stefanik in the aftermath of Trump’s comments.
“The entire country just watched Donald Trump throw Elise Stefanik under the bus the same way she’s been throwing New Yorkers under the bus for years,” said Sarafina Chitika, communications director for the campaign. “In one breath, Trump nuked her opening argument and told every New Yorker listening that she’s only playing politics. We haven’t seen Stefanik take an L this big since Trump crushed her dreams of joining his administration.”
TRUMP TRADES IN ATTACKS FOR PRAISE AS HE HOSTS MAMDANI IN REMARKABLY RESPECTFUL OVAL OFFICE MEETING
The first meeting between Trump and Mamdani was cordial and respectful. The president repeatedly said he wants Mamdani to succeed as mayor despite his repeated attacks against Mamdani as a “communist.”
“This is a man that right now, I think, is focused on New York City,” Trump said. “I really think he has a chance to do a great job. We’re going to help him.”