It’s a conversation that will echo across America next week as millions travel to be with their families for Thanksgiving: “You know your dad is a fascist, right?” to which the response might be, “Okay, but find something else to talk about.” Affordability, or, I don’t know, you both love New York City.”
For nearly an hour on Friday, President Donald Trump and newly elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who have spent months slinging mud and berating each other, displayed perfect Thanksgiving dinner decorum, and maybe we can all learn from it.
Going into the meeting, expectations were high that tempers might flare. Could we see a repeat of the angry conversation Trump had with Vlodymyr Zalenskyy months ago, full of fiery accusations? But it turns out that was never really in the cards.
It was to neither man’s advantage to cause a scene on Friday, let alone judge the cause of such a scene. So they just smiled and pleasantly passed over the rhetorical filler.
ZOHRAN MAMDANI REVEALS WHAT HE PLANS to discuss with President Trump during an oval office meeting
That didn’t stop the assembled reporters from, like troublemaking teenagers, provoking a fight between Trump and Mamdani. It went something like this: “Hey Dad, Mr. Green Energy flew here instead of taking the train.”
But Trump wouldn’t take the bait. On at least seven occasions, including that one, he came to Mamdani’s defense, refusing to call him a jihadist, saying he would be comfortable in Gotham under Mamdani, and even suggesting that the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed young socialist might change positions as he himself has done.
The most telling moment came when Mamdani was pressed on whether he still believes Trump is a fascist. Mamdani froze in the headlights, until Trump jumped in and said, “Just say yes,” adding that it was easier than explaining.
TRUMP SAYS HE WILL MEET New York Mayor-Elect ZOHRAN MAMDANI THIS WEEK
Trump acknowledged that in the tough politics of politics, people throw names at each other, but also that once the votes are counted, the winners must work together, regardless of whether they freely use epithets like fascist and communist.
The meeting was also a reminder that Trump, unlike Mamdani, is not an ideologue. He was a Democrat in the Reform Party and leader of the Republican Party. For Trump, the question is whether a policy works, not whether Edmund Burke or William F. Buckley would approve of it.
Zany Zohran is a sworn socialist, but Trump cannot be fully claimed by any of the wings of the modern conservative movement, all of which are in favor of him.
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As for Mamdini, he played the son-in-law very well, smiling a lot, standing reverently next to Trump, he was calm and reserved, almost like the twenty-something cousins who suddenly decide to “take a walk” half an hour before dinner.
There will be little to no backlash against Mamdani on the left for “humanizing” Trump during his visit, because his acolytes know he was just playing the game, as when former President Barack Obama pretended to oppose gay marriage based on his “deeply held” Christian beliefs.
But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a humanizing moment for Trump, at least for those who haven’t yet put his photo on dartboards. By ditching Archie Bunker and channeling Mike Brady, Trump delivered a “President Knows Best” holiday special.
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While this truce between the soon-to-be Hizzoner and the Commander in Chief might not last much longer than Christmas or New Year’s — Trump could still summon ICE to Gotham, and Mamdani could still try to arrest foreign dignitaries — for now, the pleasantries are a welcome respite.
“My daughter married a communist, can you believe that, a communist?” you can almost hear Trump talking about his beloved New York City after dinner as he loosens his belt in his gold armchair. “But that’s okay, we love Zohran.”
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Perhaps as we enter the season of Advent next week, this is exactly what Americans needed to see: two men who couldn’t be more polar opposites in their country’s political imagination, and who nevertheless treat each other with dignity and respect.
And somewhere I could almost feel First Lady Melania Trump, mirroring so many mothers and grandmothers on this Turkey Day and whispering, “Thank God,” as the fireworks never started and the family finished the entire pumpkin pie.
