President Donald Trump on Friday met the man who once called himself “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare,” but he found a very different tone inside the Oval Office. Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani were warm and complimentary, focusing on shared goals instead of the sharp public clashes that defined their rise.

Trump, who had previously labeled Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and a “total nut job,” said he was surprised by the mayor-elect, The Associated Press reported.

“I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually,” Trump said as Mamdani stood beside him.

The meeting offered political opportunity for both men.

For Mamdani, it was a chance to directly engage with the most powerful figure in American politics and elevate his profile beyond New York.

For Trump, it was a major platform to discuss affordability at a time when he is under growing pressure to show progress on cost-of-living issues.

Until now, the two men built their bases by attacking one another, and it is unclear how supporters on either side will react to their calm exchange.

“We’re going to be helping him, to make everybody’s dream come true, having a strong and very safe New York,” Trump said.

“What I really appreciate about the president is that the meeting that we had focused not on places of disagreement, which there are many, and also focused on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers,” Mamdani said.

“Some of his ideas are really the same ideas that I have,” Trump said about Mamdani’s approach to inflation.

Trump even stepped in to protect Mamdani when reporters pressed the mayor-elect on his past comments.

When asked whether Mamdani stood by calling the president a fascist, Trump interjected before he could answer.

“That’s OK. You can just say yes. OK?” Trump said. “It’s easier. It’s easier than explaining it. I don’t mind.”

When a reporter questioned why Mamdani flew to Washington instead of taking transportation with a smaller carbon footprint, Trump said, “I’ll stick up for you.”

Mamdani said he sought the meeting to address affordability concerns in New York City.

Trump has previously called him a “communist” and threatened to cut federal funding, but on Friday he pulled back from those remarks.

“We don’t want that to happen,” Trump said. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

After the meeting, Elle Bisgaard-Church, Mamdani’s former campaign manager and incoming chief of staff, told NY1 the two disagreed on many issues but found common ground on crime reduction.

“We discussed that we share a mutual goal of having a safe city where everyone can move around in comfort and ease,” she said.

She added that both men focused on where they could find agreement on affordability and fairness.

Mamdani defeated Cuomo by casting him as a “puppet” for Trump.

During the campaign he said, “I am Donald Trump’s worst nightmare, as a progressive Muslim immigrant who actually fights for the things that I believe in.”

Trump predicted Mamdani “will prove to be one of the best things to ever happen to our great Republican Party,” pointing to Democratic infighting sparked by Mamdani’s far-left positions.

Trump has held tense Oval Office meetings this year, including a heated exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February and a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in May where he played a controversial video.

A senior administration official said Trump put little planning into the Mamdani meeting, but added that the threat to block federal funding remains a possibility.

Mamdani said Thursday he was not worried about Trump using the meeting to embarrass him.

He said he saw it as an opportunity to make his case even while acknowledging “many disagreements with the president.”

Instead, both avoided confrontation and delivered unusually cordial remarks.