When Donald Trump and newly elected New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani meet at the White House on Friday, the conversation won’t be about political polls or campaign slogans. It will be about affordability – and about two very different worldviews of how America should operate.
Trump believes that prosperity comes from freeing people to build wealth. Mamdani believes that prosperity comes from redistributing wealth through the government. For now, both say they are willing to listen to each other.
But this conversation most likely won’t be personal. It will be philosophical. While the meeting will take place at the White House, Mamdani is from Trump’s hometown of New York City.
TRUMP SAYS HE WILL MEET New York Mayor-Elect ZOHRAN MAMDANI THIS WEEK
This meeting could set a precedent for what could happen in the next decade. If I were an adviser to Trump today—and assuming he would listen to me—here are the hard lessons about capitalism he would need to convey point by point to the new mayor, with real-world examples that reveal the difference between building an economy and managing decline.
Lesson 1: Capitalism expands supply, socialism rations it
Take housing, where, according to Mamdani, one in four people live in poverty. Trump’s vision is simple: If you want rents to stabilize or fall, build more housing — especially affordable housing.
How do you do that? Incentivize developers. Reduce zoning delays. Reduce NIMBY regulations. Add tax credits where they make sense. No handouts or giveaways, but make citizens partners. Above all, ensure that private capital flows into projects that increase supply.
You lower prices the same way Costco lowers the cost of rotisserie chickens: through scale and efficiency, not through wartime price controls.
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Mamdani, on the other hand, favors “just cause evictions,” freezing rents and allowing the government to set the rules for who pays what. That is the textbook example of socialism: controlling prices instead of increasing supply. But rent control won’t produce a single new apartment in New York City. It has been proven that in cities that implement price controls, construction slows, maintenance decreases, and available units shrink as landlords exit the market.
Trump should tell him: “If you punish the builders, you get fewer buildings. If you free the builders, you get more housing.”
Lesson 2: Capitalism attracts capital, socialism drives it away
Trump likes to talk about investment capital leaving cities like New York and San Francisco — and he’s not wrong. Capital is like water; it flows where it can move freely.
Under Trump’s philosophy, you lower business taxes and reduce regulations so that businesses choose to expand – so that people choose to start new businesses. Remember when manufacturers opened new factories after the 2017 tax cuts or when small businesses reinvested money in workers and equipment? You’ll see this again with the massive bonus depreciation rules in the recently passed OBRA and with programs like a Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ). Perhaps the federal government could even declare all five New York City boroughs official QOZ.
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Mamdani’s worldview says the opposite: tax more, spend more and regulate more. How will taxing the rich with 2% more city taxes make people want to stay and invest? He regularly calls for sharply higher taxes on millionaires, financial transactions and corporations – the very people and institutions that create jobs and expand the revenue base.
Trump should tell him: “If you think rich people and corporations won’t leave, just look at the U-Hauls leaving New York every weekend.”
Lesson 3: Capitalism innovates, socialism standardizes
Do you want a perfect example? Consider Mamdani’s push for city-owned supermarkets that sell at wholesale margins.
Democratic New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani celebrates as he takes the stage during his election night watch party at the Brooklyn Paramount on November 4, 2025 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Mamdani defeated independent candidate and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in the closely watched election for mayor of New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty)
To Trump, that sounds like the DMV replacing Whole Foods. The private sector competes. The private sector innovates. Supermarkets are expanding their product lines, finding efficiencies, optimizing logistics and investing in technology. What if we taught every child in America a mandatory lesson about growing their own vegetables?
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Government-run markets? Does anyone remember Amtrak and why our rail system lags behind other countries? Government-run markets ultimately offer the same products at the same price and use the same processes. And when budgets run out, watch the quality decline.
Capitalism involves choices. Socialism brings shortages.
Trump should say, “Zohran, the reason Americans have 47 types of breakfast cereal is because of capitalism. Under socialism they would be lucky to get one.”
Lesson 4: Capitalism rewards work, socialism redistributes it
Trump’s economic worldview is simple: you get what you deserve. Isn’t that life? You’re building a company? You keep the advantage. Do you work extra hours? You have more money left over. You invent something valuable? You get paid for it.
New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump meet at the White House on Friday, November 21, 2025. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images and AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
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Mamdani’s model is redistributed through subsidies, government programs, and publicly funded benefits ranging from free buses to universal child care. The intention may be compassionate, but the execution leaves one group indefinitely paying for the benefits of another group – especially those who innovate, create jobs and generate wealth for their efforts.
Trump should tell him: “You can’t grow an economy by taking away top performers and hoping the rest will magically rise up.”
Lesson 5: Capitalism creates jobs, socialism creates dependency
When Trump cut taxes and scaled back regulations during his first term, the result was an undeniable increase in employment, low unemployment, wage growth and business expansion. Employers were hiring because they had confidence in the economy and cash flow.
I hope President Trump shares the successes and failures he’s seen as a businessman — and the message that giving everything away for free is a recipe for disaster. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
Mamdani’s policies create dependence on government systems – think government housing guarantees, government supermarkets, government transit, government price controls. And soon the government will tell you when you’re making too much.
One system creates producers. The other creates recipients.
Trump’s line here should be simple: “Someone has to create the wealth before you can redistribute it. Eventually you will run out of creators.”
Conclusion: Trump can change Mamdani’s opinion in one meeting
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When Trump sits down with Mamdani, I hope he doesn’t lecture him. I hope he teaches him – with examples of what has been working in this country for almost 250 years. I hope he shares the successes and failures he’s seen as a businessman – and that giving everything away for free is a recipe for disaster.
Taking money from people who have earned it and giving it to others Sounds good at first until you realize that most of the people who make it are the ones who create jobs for those who don’t have it. Or he could simply pull out a world map and ask Mamdani which country is properly practicing socialism – and where it works.
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Capitalism: Build more → Attract more → Innovate more → Earn more → Hire more.
Socialism: Regulate more → Tax more → Control more → Ration more → Be more dependent.
One system creates abundance. One system manages scarcity. And that’s the difference all Americans need to remember.
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