President Donald J. Trump rejected the branding of a top Republican ally that New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is a “jihadist” during a Friday Oval Office news conference with the newly elected Democrat.
When asked by a reporter about whether he agreed with the assessment of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) regarding the Ugandan-born Muslim, the president disagreed, keeping the highly anticipated meeting on the positive side, a departure from the acrimonious rhetoric during his insurgent campaign to run the nation’s largest city.
Reporter: Stefanik has campaigned on calling Mamdani a jihadist. Do you think you’re standing next to a jihadist?
Trump: No… but she’s out there campaigning. You say things sometimes in a campaign. You’d have to ask her about that. I met with a man who is a rational person. pic.twitter.com/0jX1GsAqqa
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 21, 2025
“Mr. President, Republican Elise Stefanik has campaigned by calling Zohran Mamdani a jihadist. Do you think you’re standing next to a jihadist?” asked a reporter of the House lawmaker’s comments.
“No, I don’t,” Trump responded. “But she’s campaigning, and you say things sometimes in a campaign. She’s a very capable person, but you really have to ask her about that.”
The congresswoman who just announced that she’s running for New York governor disagreed, sticking to her guns about the charming radical who repeatedly refused to denounce the slogan “globalize the intifada” and sparked controversy when he met with a radical Islamic cleric who was an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, who once called for a “jihad” against Gotham.
We all want NYC to succeed.
But we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one.
If he walks like a jihadist
If he talks like a jihadist
If he campaigns like a jihadist
If he supports jihadists,He’s a jihadist.
And he’s @KathyHochul’s jihadist. pic.twitter.com/JZaM29d82R
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) November 21, 2025
“We all want NYC to succeed. But we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one,” Stefanik wrote in a Friday post to X. “If he walks like a jihadist. If he talks like a jihadist. If he campaigns like a jihadist. If he supports jihadists, He’s a jihadist.”
“And he’s @KathyHochul’s jihadist,” she added, referring to current New York Governor Kathy Hochul, whom she seeks to oust in next year’s election.
Hochul rejected the branding with the typical uncouth profanity that until recently was viewed as beneath the dignity of elected officials.
“Elise Stefanik is full of sh*t,” Hochul wrote in a Friday post to X, sharing a clip with MSNBC host Chris Hayes where she was asked about Stefanik’s comments.
Elise Stefanik is full of shit. pic.twitter.com/MGXIaG8Tpl
— Kathy Hochul (@KathyHochul) November 22, 2025
“I call Zohran Mamdani a jihadist because he is. Zohran Mamdani is a raging antisemite,” Stefanik said in a statement to a New York Times reporter last month, adding, “He is Kathy Hochul’s endorsed jihadist Communist who she has empowered to destroy New York City.”
“He’s got views that are a little out there, but who knows? I mean, we’re going to see what works. He’s going to change, also. I changed a lot,” Trump said on Friday. “I feel very confident that he can do a very good job. I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually.”
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