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NEW YORK: Earlier in the month, President Donald Trump warned voters that democratic socialists \u2014 extreme, crazed, lunatics, he called them \u2014 were threatening to transform America into \u201ca communist country.\u201d<\/p>\n
This week, a smiling Trump patted on the shoulder one of the nation\u2019s best known democratic socialists, shook his hand, and said he was \u201coff to a start\u201d to being a great mayor of the country\u2019s largest city.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s cozy relationship with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, which began last year, has confounded people across the political spectrum. But with the midterms approaching, Republicans are increasingly frustrated by the unexpected bromance, which threatens the party\u2019s message about Democratic radicalism.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re trying to say, \u2018Here\u2019s how extreme they are,\u2019 and the president\u2019s saying, \u2018I love this guy,\u201d said veteran Republican strategist Doug Heye. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t help.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to overstate the extent to which Republicans are focused on the rise of democratic socialism in the midterm season. At a moment when the party is saddled with Trump\u2019s weak approval ratings on virtually every major issue \u2014 the economy and the war in Iran chief among them \u2014 Republicans from Georgia and Texas to New York and Michigan are working to scare voters away from Democratic candidates by warning that the party is controlled by far-left extremists.<\/p>\n
At Trump\u2019s unusual midterm convention in Texas earlier in the month, Mamdani\u2019s name was evoked over and over again.<\/p>\n
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz called the New York Mayor \u201cComrade Mamdani.\u201d Rep. Tom Emmer, the No. 3 House Republican, called him \u201cMamdani the commie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump sent a similar message although he didn\u2019t mention Mamdani.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey call themselves Democrat socialists, but actually they\u2019re communists,\u201d he said in his keynote address. \u201cThey\u2019re crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
In all, the words socialist or socialism were referenced dozens of times during the convention.<\/p>\n
Trump did not mention those words while standing alongside Mamdani in New York on Monday, however. The president was in town for the United Nations General Assembly and made time to swing by Gracie Mansion.<\/p>\n
Instead, the president highlighted efforts underway to work together, noting that he\u2019s worked with numerous mayors over the years \u2014 \u201csome great ones and some not so great ones.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully you\u2019re going to be a great one,\u201d Trump said while looking at Mamdani. \u201cI\u2019ll be able to say you\u2019re going to be a great one. And you\u2019re off to a start.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump grew up in Queens, which Mamdani represented in the New York Assembly before running for mayor and winning a startling upset. He has since expanded his political power in the city, helping to push three candidates to victory in Democratic congressional primaries earlier this year.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s possible that Trump\u2019s tone on Mamdani will shift again. After they had two surprisingly convivial meeting in the Oval Office, Trump started criticizing the mayor again.<\/p>\n
\u201cSadly, Mayor Mamdani is DESTROYING New York! It has no chance!,\u201d Trump wrote on social media in April in apparent response to a plan to create a new tax on luxury second homes in the city. \u201cThe United States of America should not contribute to its failure. It will only get WORSE. The TAX, TAX, TAX Policies are SO WRONG.\u201d<\/p>\n
Republicans in New York were quick to downplay the latest example of Trump\u2019s friendliness with Mamdani.<\/p>\n
David Laska, a spokesperson for the New York Republican Party, said \u201cPresident Trump is the greatest dealmaker in history, and he has proven repeatedly that he can deal from a position of strength with America\u2019s enemies, be they foreign dictators or the mayor of New York City.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mamdani faced his own questions about why he was playing nice with a president that he\u2019s previously described as a fascist.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe president and I have both been very frank about the many disagreements that we have,\u201d he said Monday. \u201cI will continue to have conversations with the president, and frankly, anyone who can deliver relief to the people of this city.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n