We Can All Take a Page out of Trump and Mamdani’s Book
Photo via AP News
LUCAS HAYDEN: As New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump converged on the White House last week, onlookers braced for a collision worthy of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. Yet what happened instead was a remarkable showing of bipartisanship—one that each and every one of us can learn from.
It goes without saying that America is going through an incredibly polarized period of time. Members of the two parties haven’t disagreed this much since, arguably, the Reconstruction era, after the Union won the Civil War and had to figure out how to reincorporate the former Confederate states. It’s nigh impossible for there to be any bipartisan agreement on where America should go from here, especially when it comes to issues such as immigration, climate change and abortion.
It was in this environment that Mamdani entered the Oval Office from. As a democratic socialist who has been accused by many in America’s conservative wing as being fully communist, he was stepping into the house of Trump, the conduit of the Republican party who has been accused by many in America’s liberal wing as being fully fascist. Reporters from news organizations of every bias were lined up to ask all sorts of questions—including a handful designed to even further sow tension between the two figures. With all of this pressure on the Oval Office, disaster seemed poised to strike.
Instead of focusing on their differences, characteristic of modern politics, however, Mamdani and Trump focused on their similarities. As two New Yorkers, both emphasized an affordability crisis in the city and agreed on a few ways of tackling it. When it came to the looming presence of federal immigration officials in the city, it is unknown specifically how much they agreed on, although the following day Trump said that he would only send federal reinforcements if the city needed it, a deescalation from previous threats. The two also found significant common ground on crime in New York, with Trump going as far to say that he would feel safe living in a New York led by Mamdani.
When a reporter asked Mamdani if he thought that Trump was a fascist, Trump tapped him on the arm and jokingly told him that he could just say yes, giving Mamdani a pass from what would have been one of the most painstakingly awkward questions of the afternoon. When a reporter asked Trump if he thought that Mamdani was a jihadist, Trump stated that he didn’t think so, providing a refreshing break from much of the name-calling that both parties have engaged in.
All in all, the meeting carried one reminder bigger than any other—that when you strip away all of the labels and constructions, the other side of the aisle is also composed of human beings, of Americans, and it turns out we have more in common than we might think. The first step towards finding this out, however, is listening. Blocking your ears and demonizing the other party won’t get this country any closer to understanding, respecting or liking the other side (you may have discovered this at Thanksgiving.) Actively seeking to understand and not generalize the other side, on the other hand, gets everyone a little friendlier and more respectful.
Everyone in America wants this country to be a better place. It would behoove Americans—and students of Georgetown—to take a break from focusing on policies of the other party that are going to destroy America, and to start focusing on policies of the other party that sound familiar.
Lucas Hayden is a freshman from St. Louis majoring in International Politics at the School of Foreign Service.