After trading some of the harshest political insults in recent memory, President Donald Trump and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani appear to have struck up a surprisingly cordial relationship through private text messages.
Trump, who previously called Mamdani a "100% Communist lunatic," and Mamdani, who has labeled Trump a fascist, have been exchanging text messages for months, Axios reported Tuesday, citing two people familiar with the correspondence.
The private exchanges began after Trump and Mamdani swapped phone numbers at a White House meeting in November, according to Axios. Although the content of the messages has not been disclosed, the continued contact suggests the once-adversarial relationship has softened behind the scenes.
The texting followed a notably friendly Oval Office meeting in which Trump publicly praised Mamdani, a sharp contrast to his earlier attacks during the campaign. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, also toned down his rhetoric following the meeting, despite having been one of Trump's most vocal critics earlier in the year.
Mamdani, the youngest New York City mayor in more than a century and the first Muslim to hold the office, previously built his national profile by openly clashing with Trump over immigration, policing, and foreign policy.
Earlier this month, Mamdani said he spoke directly with Trump by phone to object to U.S. missile strikes in Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, calling the actions illegal and an act of war. Despite that disagreement, Mamdani later described the conversation as direct but civil.
Axios reported that the text exchanges have continued since that call, though neither side has detailed how often they communicate or what issues they discuss.
Newsmax has reached out to the White House and Mamdani's office for comment.
The quiet backchannel underscores a striking shift in tone between the White House and the mayor of the nation's largest city, following months of public hostility and personal attacks.
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