Donald Trump Claims NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Calls Him 'All the Time' 

President Donald Trump dubiously claimed that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani "calls me all the time" just to say hello.

While Trump has frequently labeled Mamdani, 34, a "communist" and a "disaster" for the city, he simultaneously described him as a "nice guy" during various public remarks, claiming they text each other all the time.

“Look at New York. I mean, he’s a nice guy. Calls me all the time, says ‘hi,’ but his policies are not good,” Trump said while he was hawking his dubious “No Tax On Tips” policy in Las Vegas on Thursday, April 16.

“He’s chasing people out and causing a lot of harm to everybody, and everybody’s taxes are going through the roof,” Trump alleged.

During his State of the Union speech, Trump mentioned that he and Mamdani speak frequently, despite their sharp political disagreements over taxes and immigration.

While claiming a friendly personal rapport, Trump has also called Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, a "communist lunatic" and threatened to cut federal funding to New York City, which he says the mayor is “destroying” in his push to tax the wealthy.

The mayor marked Wednesday, April 15, Tax Day with a video post on X that said: “Happy Tax Day, New York. We’re taxing the rich.”

“Sadly, Mayor Mamdani is DESTROYING New York! It has no chance! The United States of America should not contribute to its failure. It will only get WORSE,” Trump said in a social media post Thursday. “The TAX, TAX, TAX Policies are SO WRONG. People are fleeing. They must change their ways, AND FAST. History has proven, THIS ‘STUFF’ JUST DOESN’T WORK.”

The mayor’s tax increase is highly targeted at the ultra-wealthy rather than a "through-the-roof" hike for most residents. While he initially floated a broad 9.5 percent property tax increase as a "last resort" to close a $5.4 billion budget gap, he has recently pivoted toward targeting luxury taxes.

The NYC Mayor's Office states it aims to ensure that global elites, including non-residents who own second homes in NYC worth over $5 million, contribute their fair share toward services they benefit from but don't fully support through income taxes.

“Oh no. Won't somebody have sympathy for the empty 2nd or 3rd New York mansions owned by Florida residents,” quipped a Trump critic on X.

The two figures notably met in the Oval Office in November 2025, where an uncharacteristically fawning and swooning Trump surprisingly shrugged off Mamdani's call for him to be a "fascist" during the campaign, telling him, "That’s okay... just say yes.”

While the bromance may be over between the two, they have found common ground on reducing the cost of living, specifically regarding housing, groceries and utilities.

In February, Mamdani successfully convinced Trump to support federal funding for 12,000 affordable apartments in Queens, where the president was born.