What is happening?
In a particularly notable moment, the president said that “some of his ideas are really the same ideas that I have.” At another point, he added that “we agree on a lot more than I would have thought. I want him to do a great job, and we’ll help him do a great job.”
One thing I haven’t seen discussed in regards to this meeting is that Trump has apparently just recently realized (as of the election results around the U.S.) that he’s hugely unpopular and that it threatens his power / his grip on the Republicans. And that it stems in part from how he has ignored the affordability issue ever since he got elected.
Then someone like Mamdani waltzes into the picture and absolutely cleans up when running on affordability… and not just “uh yeah I will totally lower the price of eggs” either. So Trump sees an opportunity to cozy up to this affordability guy in the hopes that some of the voter goodwill that Mamdani earned on that topic rubs off on Trump. He’s desperate not to lose his grip on power.