Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told Newsmax on Friday that President Donald Trump made a “smart” political move by hosting New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office — even if the meeting made him “sick to my stomach.”
On “Rob Schmitt Tonight” with guest host Bob Brooks, Giuliani agreed that Trump’s move was partly meant to reassure New York business owners uneasy about a democratic socialist about to take the reins.
“I can have my views on the percentage that this is going to work out,” Giuliani said. “Do I think it was a smart way to start? Sure, it was a smart way to start.”
Giuliani said the meeting shifts the burden of maintaining a constructive relationship squarely onto Mamdani.
“Now any deterioration in the relationship will be by the communist and Islamic extremist sympathizer, not by the president,” he argued, using the terms he has previously applied to Mamdani.
Giuliani said he wants New York City to succeed — even if it means Mamdani proves him wrong.
“Of course, I want to see New York City do well. I want to see myself wrong about him. I'd like to see him change,” he said.
But the former mayor made clear that Trump’s outreach did not sit well with him personally.
“All of that doesn't belie the fact that it makes me sick to my stomach to see that man in the Oval Office,” Giuliani said.
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