The Trump–Mamdani White House meeting.

I'm Isaac Saul, and this is Tangle: an independent, nonpartisan, subscriber-supported politics newsletter that summarizes the best arguments from across the political spectrum on the news of the day — then “my take.”

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Quick hits.

1. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) announced she will resign from Congress on January 5, 2026, saying she did not want to pursue a difficult primary election after President Trump publicly denounced her and withdrew his endorsement. (The announcement)
2. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito ruled that Texas can temporarily resume using its redrawn congressional map that is expected to benefit Republicans. A panel of federal judges struck down the new map last week, but Alito’s decision will allow candidates to file for office under the new boundaries while the Supreme Court considers Texas’s appeal to the lower-court ruling. (The decision)
3. The U.S. and Ukraine released a joint statement saying that they made “meaningful progress toward aligning positions” on a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. An initial draft of the plan required Ukraine to cede some land to Russia and reduce the size of its military in return for security guarantees from the United States, among other provisions. President Trump has been pushing for Ukraine to formally respond to the proposal by Thursday. (The proposal)
4. Israel carried out an airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, and claimed it killed Hezbollah’s chief of staff. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said five people were killed and 25 injured in the strike. (The strike)
5. The United States military is reportedly preparing to launch new operations in the coming days to increase pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government. The nature and scope of those operations are not yet clear. (The report)

Today’s topic.

The Trump–Mamdani meeting. On Friday, President Donald Trump hosted New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D) at the White House, where they met in private before answering questions in the Oval Office. Despite sharp mutual criticism in recent months, Trump and Mamdani were notably cordial, expressing a shared desire to address cost-of-living and safety issues in New York City. The president in particular surprised some observers by complimenting the mayor-elect and expressing optimism about his incoming administration. 

Back up: Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, won New York City’s mayoral election on November 4, defeating former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (I) and activist and radio talk show host Curtis Sliwa (R). Trump endorsed Cuomo in the race and has repeatedly criticized Mamdani and his platform, calling him a “communist” and threatening to pull federal funding to the city if he won. Mamdani has also criticized Trump, calling him a “despot” in his election night victory speech, and he has promised to challenge the administration’s policies as mayor. Trump said that Mamdani requested the White House meeting, which a spokesperson for the mayor-elect said is customary for the incoming leader of the city. 

During Friday’s press conference, President Trump and Mayor-elect Mamdani each emphasized their common interest in addressing affordability. “Some of [Mamdani’s] ideas are the same ideas I have,” Trump said, adding, “We agree on a lot more than I would have thought.” Mamdani echoed this sentiment, saying, “What I really appreciate about the president is that the meeting that we had focused not on places of disagreement, which there are many, and also focused on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers.”

Reporters repeatedly pressed both leaders on their past comments about the other, but neither opted to reiterate their criticisms. At one point, a reporter asked Mamdani if he still thinks Trump is a fascist; as the mayor-elect began to answer, the president interrupted him and said, “That’s okay, you can just say ‘yes’… It’s easier than explaining.” Trump also said he disagreed with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), a Trump ally and candidate for governor in 2026, that Mamdani is a “jihadist.”

The cordial meeting sparked a range of reactions across the political spectrum, particularly on the right. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) questioned whether the two leaders could find common ground on policy, saying, “I don’t know if their views of how you get to the affordability issue are really in line. Obviously one wants to implement socialist policies and price controls that we know don’t work.” 

Democrats were mixed in their response. A spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the senator “feels a meeting like this can only be good for New York.” Others, like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), suggested the president was attempting to link himself to Mamdani’s recent electoral success.

Today, we’ll share reactions to the meeting from the left and right. Then, Executive Editor Isaac Saul gives his take. 

What the left is saying.

• The left praises Mamdani’s performance in the meeting, saying he charmed Trump without ceding ground.
• Some doubt that a Trump–Mamdani alliance can hold.
• Others say the mayor-elect should maintain this tack in dealing with the president. 

In Jacobin, Peter Dreier wrote “Zohran Mamdani knew how to handle Donald Trump.”

“Trump is impulsive. His anger and resentments have been on full display in the past few weeks. He’s lashed out at reporters and used his Truth Social platform to attack his enemies with long rants — even longer and more incoherent than usual,” Dreier said. “But, like most bullies, Trump doesn’t like personal confrontations (except toward reporters and women), unless he can intimidate them. He probably recognized that he couldn’t intimidate the self-assured, confident, and fast-on-his-feet Mamdani, who just came away with one of the most amazing against-the-odds political victories in American history.”

“As New York mayor, Mamdani has an extremely hard task… Can Mamdani rally the state’s liberals and progressives to push Governor Hochul and state legislators to embrace his agenda? Will Trump send his federal stormtroopers to New York City to kidnap, arrest, and detain immigrants?” Dreier asked. “The Republican Party will try to make Mamdani the face of the Democratic Party, a redbaiting tactic intended to discredit its candidates in swing races as socialists. But on Friday, with both men understanding that it would be good for both of them to say nice things and show mutual respect, that approach was thrown into question.”

In What’s Left, Zeeshan Aleem explored “the baffling Trump–Mamdani White House meeting.”

“Trump predominantly deals with establishment Democrats who are scared of their own reflection and defend the status quo — he was probably struck by Mamdani’s confidence in attacking ‘the system’ as failing and his relentless focus on the working class,” Aleem said. “But I’ve also seen firsthand that it’s a sensation that emerges when populists across the political spectrum actually speak directly to each other. I don’t actually think it’s ultimately true — because I believe right-wing populism is fundamentally a ruse that betrays working class interests — but as a feeling I can see why the impressionable Trump could’ve been nudged in that direction.”

“As impressive as Mamdani’s charm offensive was, I am highly skeptical it will stick. Trump is mercurial, often gets caught up in the buzz of the last meeting he was in, and didn’t have to make any hard decisions during what was mostly a vibe check-in about a city he feels nostalgia for,” Aleem wrote. “He did suggest he would not be aggressively trying to make Mamdani’s life impossible, but his entire political style revolves around adversarial positions toward his political opponents and only time will tell if he sticks by that position. Once the conversation wears off, Trump is likely to return to his old ways.”

In The Atlantic, Michael Powell said “the mayor-elect proved he can charm a foe.”

“Trump always and ever loves winners, whether a Saudi crown prince, a billionaire businessman, or, apparently, a democratic-socialist mayor fresh off an underdog win. He also admires those who dress well and carry themselves with confidence. Mamdani meets these requirements,” Powell wrote. “Mamdani can at times drop his smile and sound confrontational, as he did in his Election Night speech, slamming his vanquished opponent, Andrew Cuomo, and challenging Trump directly. But his more impressive ability as a pol was on display in the weeks that followed, as he slipped into that smile of his once more and quietly went about appointing some wise old hands as mayoral aides.

“This afternoon, Mamdani appeared to charm a dangerous foe and, in so doing, perhaps purchased himself a respite from Trump’s threats to send the National Guard to New York. But Mamdani should restrain his postgame talk,” Powell said. “In the months to come, Trump could still decide to send the National Guard marching down Broadway, or direct masked Border Patrol agents to raid Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, or try to strip federal funding for housing and bridges. The best way to avoid these outcomes is for Mamdani to accept his victory quietly.”

What the right is saying.

• Many on the right say the meeting’s tone was surprising but worked to both leaders’ benefit. 
• Some argue Trump and Mamdani are models of how to transcend party identity.
• Others call the meeting a welcome respite from heated partisan fighting. 

In The New York Post, Michael Goodwin said the meeting “comes as a shock and promise that there is hope for NYC.”

“Because good news doesn’t sell, there were surely some long faces in American newsrooms Friday afternoon. The expected — and even hoped for — explosion between President Trump and New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani turned out to be a festival of mutual admiration. Given the grim forecast, it was as shocking as if cats and dogs decided to make a love story,” Goodwin wrote. “The president was so pleased with their initial 45-minute private meeting that he withdrew his previous threat to slash federal funding for Gotham because of Mamdani’s election and promised instead to help the city.”

“The bonhomie highlights one of the great failures of Dem congressional leaders from the city. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries in the House and Sen. Chuck Schumer have not taken advantage of Trump being a New Yorker to get more out of him for the city he so clearly loves. Instead, they act like free-floating partisans, untethered from any responsibility to help the people who sent them to Washington,” Goodwin said. “As for cross-over voters, Mamdani’s smartest move was to brand the cost-of-living issue with a catchy name, calling it the affordability crisis. Because it is undeniable that the price of everything in New York is going through the roof, his opponents were stuck trying to play catch-up on his turf.”

In UnHerd, James Billot suggested “Mamdani-Trumpers are America’s future.”

“There were an estimated 60,000 New Yorkers who voted for Trump and Mamdani. In a city of eight million, that may not seem like much, but they exemplify a broader trend across the country. As this month’s special elections showed, America’s non-white population is becoming ideologically promiscuous, flitting between both major parties, and shedding long-standing partisan loyalties in the process,” Billot wrote. “When I visited some of the neighbourhoods where the Trump-Mamdani swing was most pronounced, the overall message was clear: the status quo was not working. With next year’s midterms looming, this restless, unpredictable bloc could prove decisive in shaping the balance of power in Washington.”

“With a strong anti-incumbent sentiment spreading across the country, Democrats are well placed to capitalise on this voter disaffection. But if there’s one thing this party excels at, it’s snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Should Mamdani fail to deliver on any of his ambitious promises, it could tarnish the Democratic brand for years,” Billot said. “More broadly, the Trump-Mamdani overlap illustrates a wider trend: that American politics is becoming increasingly volatile, localised, and issue-driven, rather than strictly tribal.”

In Fox News, David Marcus wrote “Trump and Mamdani showed us all how to act at Thanksgiving.”

“Going into the meeting, expectations ran high that tempers might flare. Would we see a repeat of the angry confab Trump had with Vlodymyr Zalenskyy months ago, full of fiery recriminations? But it turns out, that was never really in the cards. It was to neither man’s advantage to cause a scene on Friday, much less to be judged the cause of such a scene,” Marcus said. “The meeting was also a reminder that unlike Mamdani, Trump is not an ideologue. He has been a Democrat, in the Reform Party, and the leader of the GOP. For Trump, the question is whether a policy works, not if Edmund Burke or William F. Buckley would approve of it.”

“While this truce between the soon-to-be hizzoner and the commander-in-chief may not last much longer than Christmas or New Year’s — Trump could still have ICE descend upon Gotham, Mamdani could still try to arrest foreign dignitaries — for now, the pleasantries are a welcome respite,” Marcus said. “Perhaps, as we enter the season of Advent next week, this is exactly what Americans needed to see: two men who could not be more polar opposites in the political imagination of their nation, nonetheless treating each other with dignity and respect.”

My take.

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• The friendly meeting should not have come as a surprise — Trump works with anyone who approaches him respectfully.
• Mamdani, for his part, is far more pragmatic than most credit him for.
• This visit shows the fertile common ground between the left and right on affordability issues.

Executive Editor Isaac Saul: I think Friday is only shocking if you deeply misunderstand both Trump and Mamdani.

The president, ever since he entered the political fray, has been motivated more by personal relationships than political ideology. In my estimation, he has only three bedrock policy positions: reduce immigration, impose tariffs, and cut taxes. Everything else is negotiable. Of course, you can also file this meeting as the latest example of my favorite, all-compassing theory of Trump, first popularized by The Washington Post’s Amber Phillips: He adopts the opinion of the last person he spoke to. 

Nancy Pelosi understood Trump’s ideological flexibility well during his first term. Since then, Trump has built out a firmer set of less negotiable priorities, and after accruing 10 years of Trump-related baggage, Democrats have lost sight of the possibilities his flexibility offers.  

The president was never going to reject Mamdani because of government-run grocery stores or free child care. He was never going to reject him for being Muslim or running some ads in Arabic. He wasn’t even going to reject Mamdani for calling him a fascist on the campaign trail. Trump understands the theater of politics better than most, and he understands that people do what it takes to win. Personal insults are forgivable sins in his world, and they always have been. Just look at Trump’s cabinet: It’s a smorgasbord of people who have compared him to Hitler or warned about his fitness for the job. Shoot, he’s already urging Marjorie Taylor Greene to return to politics, two days after she announced her retirement due to a mutual falling-out over the trajectory of the Republican party. 

What matters — and what was always going to matter — is how Mamdani treats Trump in person, and how he approached their first meeting in the White House. And Mamdani came correct.

We obviously aren’t privy to what happened behind closed doors, but the two men made references to their private discussion throughout their bizarrely chummy press conference. They talked about Mamdani keeping the current police commissioner, reducing crime, affordability, ending the war in Gaza, and making New York City great. 

We might call the result a “reverse Zelensky.” Trump defended Mamdani from MAGA, saying the mayor-elect is not a jihadist or an extremist. He protected him from the press, giving Mamdani a free pass on a tough question about calling him a fascist. He literally gave his mayorship the Trump blessing, saying he’d feel comfortable living in New York City under Mamdani and thought the mayor-elect has what it takes to make the city great again.

Evan Roth Smith, a Democratic strategist and former Tangle podcast guest, predicted this outcome nearly three weeks ago: “I suspect that Trump views Mamdani as less of a ‘foe’ or a ‘foil’ and more as a worthy fellow cast member on the stage of American political drama,” Smith said. “Combined with his personal and financial connections to New York City I think we are in store for treatment that is distinct and more nuanced than what Trump has done to other big cities.”

Others missed the mark. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) excitedly posted that the “literal communist” Mamdani was about to be “schooled by President Trump.” Conservative columnists, for weeks, have been spilling ink about how “New York is lost” and will become a hotbed of Sharia law and crime. Members of Congress and MAGA influencers actually suggested Trump should denaturalize and deport Mamdani; instead, he invited him to the White House for a lovefest. 

Imagine being a Republican leader in Congress. You’ve spent weeks signaling that you would make Mamdani the face of the Democratic Party, convince the country that Democrats want Islamist communists to take over, and run against that caricature in the 2026 midterms. Then, in one afternoon, Trump lights your entire plan on fire. 

It’s amazing that, after all this time, so many Republicans still thought Trump might respond to someone like Mamdani by throwing him out of the country. Again: much of Trump’s success, both as a politician and a dealmaker, comes from his willingness to work with anyone over any terms. 

And what about Mamdani? His reversal of expectation is just as notable, and just as stark, as Trump’s. After all, Mamdani called Trump a fascist and a despot, and he has framed him as an Islamophobic, corrupt billionaire. Then, Mamdani showed up at the White House with his bright smile and thanked the president for his desire to work together to help New York. What should we make of that? 

Well, for one, it’s a nice reminder that politicians like Mamdani use the word “fascist” pretty loosely. It’s typically not wise to shake hands with bona fide fascists, and most fascists don’t invite you over for tea after you harangue them on television. I hate to break it to you, but the authentic young upstart from Morningside Heights is also a participant in the theater of politics — like Trump, and like everyone else.

Second, Mamdani is far more pragmatic than most people give him credit for. I mean, what is he supposed to do? If he showed up to the White House itching for a fight, he’d put all of New York City in a much worse position. That pragmatism has gotten him pilloried by some people on the left for “capitulating” to Trump, but he knows New York needs federal funding — and he’s keenly aware of how ugly things could get if Trump makes the city a battleground for immigration enforcement. The easiest solution to those problems is to be friendly with Trump. Mamdani, unlike many of his peers in the Democratic Party, understood the assignment — and he understands Trump. The president loves New York City and cares about its prosperity, and Mamdani knows a diplomatic relationship is mutually beneficial. If there’s anything to criticize in this dynamic, it isn’t Mamdani’s diplomacy but how reliant New York City is on federal support.

Now, is this the beginning of some Mamdani–Trump populist coalition focused on affordability? No, I don’t think so. But it does show the left and right have enough common ground, at least on affordability politics, from which a future politician could build mass appeal. It’s jarring, obviously, to see Trump give Mamdani a warmer embrace than the Democratic Party has. But it’s also a testament to the power of economic populism, and a concrete example of how much Mamdani can teach his party.

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Your questions, answered.

We’re marking the start of Thanksgiving week by answering a question we occasionally get from readers: What are some charitable organizations that Tangle staff members support or donate to?

Senior Editor Will Kaback: Mile in My Shoes (MiMS). I got involved with MiMS through my mom, who brought me to one of the group’s Saturday runs about six years ago. The mission is simple: MiMS pairs Resident Members (people who are homeless, recently incarcerated, in substance-abuse recovery, or have recently returned from military service) with mentors who take part in weekly runs with them. The stories of people involved with MiMS are deeply moving, and the act of running together breeds a unique camaraderie. Every Thanksgiving, my mom and I run in the MiMS Drumstick Dash, grouping up with a Resident Member for a 5K or 10K race. This year, she’s raising money to buy running shoes and other gear for Resident Members.

Managing Editor Ari Weitzman: Jeremiah’s Place. When I was living in Pittsburgh at the outset of Covid in 2020, I had a string of good fortune at the same time that lockdowns were hurting a ton of people — so I looked for a great local charity that could put resources to good use. A friend of mine (thanks, Mick!) suggested Jeremiah’s Place, a childcare center that accommodates last-second emergency requests with no questions asked. The service provides a lifeline for working parents — often single mothers — for whom finding someone to watch their child in an emergency could make or break their family’s week (or longer). If you want to donate to a similar service, search for a “crisis nursery” near you. 

Associate Editor Audrey Moorehead: The Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort is a faith-based charitable organization that mobilizes around the country after natural disasters. When a devastating tornado struck a nearby town while I was in high school in Tennessee, my local congregation hosted a drive for supplies and money, then a few members (including me) spent a Saturday volunteering in an effort coordinated by the organization. They provide all sorts of care to communities in need — including food, clothing, baby supplies, and more — as well as financial assistance in rebuilding efforts. If you’re interested, I highly suggest supporting your local faith-based disaster-relief organization. 

Associate Editor Lindsey Knuth: Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). A few months ago, I had just moved into my own apartment, and I was interested in potentially fostering an animal (or a few). I attended a foster orientation at PAWS, who told me about their Safety Net Foster Program, an initiative to provide temporary housing for the pets of people who are undergoing health, familial, or economic hardship. I ended up leaving with two cats that day — and now, the bonded male cat pair Wayne and Garth have made themselves very at home at my place while their owner gets back on their feet. PAWS is Philly’s largest no-kill shelter, and you can support their essential work with a donation (or better yet, get involved with your local animal shelter!).

Executive Editor Isaac Saul: YEAH Philly is a nonprofit in Philadelphia that works with teens and young adults aged 15–24 who have been impacted by violence. The organization was designed to respond to the absence of culturally relevant orgs that keep teens out of trouble, and they’ve created services to keep them busy in the evenings when violence is most prevalent. With everything from peer mediation and conflict resolution to simply creating hangout spaces for teenagers, it’s one of the organizations making a tangible difference on the ground in one of America’s roughest cities. 

We encourage you to check out the work these organizations are doing, and if you’re interested in supporting their mission, donate!

Want to have a question answered in the newsletter? You can reply to this email (it goes straight to our inbox) or fill out this form.

Under the radar.

On Sunday, Reuters reported that the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has disbanded eight months before its mandate was due to expire. Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told the outlet that DOGE is no longer a “centralized entity,” and the government-wide hiring freeze imposed by the group has also ended. DOGE played a prominent role in the early months of the Trump administration, making highly publicized moves to reduce the size of federal agencies and the workforce, but critics claimed they cut critical programs without producing meaningful savings. Reuters has the story.

Numbers.

• 1,036,051. The number of votes Zohran Mamdani received in New York City’s mayoral election. 
• 838,838. The number of votes Donald Trump received in New York City in the 2024 presidential election.
• 60,000. The estimated number of New York City voters who supported Trump in 2024 and Mamdani in 2025, according to a CBS News analysis. 
• 7. The number of times either Trump or Mamdani said “affordability” in their Oval Office press conference. 
• 4. The number of times “cost-of-living crisis” was said in the press conference. 
• 45% and 39%. The percentage of New York state residents who think Mamdani’s election as mayor will be good and bad for New York City, respectively, according to a November 2025 Siena poll.
• 75%. The percentage of U.S. adults who say the Trump administration is not focusing enough on lowering prices of goods and services, according to an October 2025 CBS News/YouGov poll. 

The extras.

• One year ago today we had just published an interview with Dave O’Brien from RepresentUs about money in politics.
• The most clicked link in Thursday's newsletter was Dictionary.com choosing ‘six seven’ as its word of the year.
• Nothing to do with politics: Cambridge Dictionary chooses a (let’s be honest) much better word of the year for 2025.
• Thursday’s survey: 2,294 readers responded to our survey asking about U.S.–Saudi relations with 36% saying the relationship should strengthen economically and diplomatically. “Regardless of who is president, I would love if we had stronger economic and diplomatic relations with everyone,” one respondent said. “I’m horrified! About the fighter jets and the dismissal of violence against reporters,” said another.

Have a nice day.

Studies show that women are 73% more likely to be seriously injured and 17% more likely to be killed in car accidents than men. This disparity partially arises from the fact that most auto manufacturers use test dummies designed after the male body, and the current standard female dummy — created in the 1970s — weighs 108 pounds, based on the smallest 5% of American women. But in late November, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) unveiled details about the THOR-05F, an advanced new test dummy based on average female proportions, that will soon become standard in government crash testing. While the dummy won’t be used in official tests until 2027 or 2028, the NHTSA’s announcement represents a major step forward for women’s driving safety. NBC News has the story.