Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday praised New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D) following his surprisingly cordial meeting with President Trump on Friday at the White House.

Appearing in “squawk box,Bessent made positive comments about Mamdani after co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin said he was curious to hear the Treasury secretary’s reaction to the meeting that took place after Trump and Mamdani. public barbs negotiated in each other for months.

Bessent, who said he attended the meeting between the Democratic Socialist and Trump, told Sorkin: “You have to feel some admiration for a candidate who ran a campaign the way he did… “It was a great, great campaign.”

Declaring that Mamdani is “clearly the leader of the Democratic Party now,” Bessent continued, “and I think it speaks to how open the president is that he invited him to the Oval Office.” [Office].”

Bessent, a Republican, argued that Trump “wants the best for New Yorkers” before slyly attacking Mamdani, calling him “a young man with a lot of old ideas that have never worked.”

“It’s easy to run a campaign, but the everyday practice of keeping people safe, picking up trash and keeping the subway running on time… we’ll see,” Bessent added.

President Donald Trump meets with New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 21, 2025.
President Donald Trump meets with New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 21, 2025.

JIM WATSON via Getty Images

On Friday, Mamdani and Trump appeared jovial at the long-awaited meeting, smiling and laughing together as they promised to work together to address New York City’s housing and affordability crisis.

At one point during the meeting, Mamdani was asked if he still thinks Trump is a “fascist.” Before he could respond, the president intervened and said, “Okay, you can just say ‘yes’. It’s easier than explaining it, I don’t care.”

“Okay, yeah,” the mayor-elect responded with a smile as Trump smiled back and patted him on the arm.

Over the weekend, Mamdani was asked once again if he thinks Trump is a fascist during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Mamdani did not back down.

“That’s something I’ve said in the past. I’m saying it today,” he told the outlet. “And I think what I appreciated about the conversation I had with the president was that we were not ashamed of the places of disagreement, of the politics that have brought us to this moment.”

Mamdani added: “And we also wanted to focus on what it would be like to offer a shared analysis of an affordability crisis for New Yorkers.”

Watch Bessent’s appearance on CNBC below.

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