The MeidasTouch Podcast - Trump Bends the Knee in White House... to Zohran?!

Episode Date: November 22, 2025

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on a stunning White House meeting between Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a meeting in which Trump bent the knee, showering Mamdani with praise and undercutting both his own party’s attacks and the right-wing media narrative targeting the mayor-elect. Chef IQ: Visit https://ChefIQ.com and Promo Code: MEIDAS to get 30% OFF sitewide! Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At Desjardin, we speak business. We speak equipment modernization. We're fluent in data digitization and expansion into foreign markets. And we can talk all day about streamlining manufacturing processes. Because at Desjardin business, we speak the same language you do. Business. So join the more than 400,000 Canadian entrepreneurs who already count on us. And contact Desjardin today.

We'd love to talk, business. This Giving Tuesday, Cam H is counting on your support. Together, we can forge a better path for mental health by creating a future where Canadians can get the help they need, when they need it, no matter who or where they are. From November 25th to December 2nd, your donation will be doubled. That means every dollar goes twice as far to help build a future where no one's seeking help is left behind. Donate today at camh.ca slash giving Tuesday. At Desjardin Insurance, we put the care in taking care of business, your business to be exact. Our agents take the time to understand your company so you get the right coverage at the right price.

Whether you rent out your building, represent a condo corporation, or own a cleaning company, we make insurance easy to understand so you can focus on the big stuff, like your small business. Get insurance that's really big on care. Find an agent today at Dejardin.com slash business coverage. We know you love the thought of a vacation to Europe, but this time, why not look a little further? To Dubai, a city that everyone talks about and has absolutely everything you could want from a vacation destination.

From world-class hotels, record-breaking skyscrapers, and epic desert adventures, to museums that showcase the future, not just the past. Choose from 14 flights per week between Canada and Dubai. Book on emirates.ca. Ontario, the wait is over. The gold standard of online casinos has arrived. Golden Nugget Online Casino is live.

Bringing Vegas-style excitement and a world-class gaming experience right to your fingertips. Whether you're a seasoned player or just starting. Signing up is fast and simple. And in just a few clicks, you can have access to our exclusive library of the best slots and top-tier table games. Make the most of your downtime with unbeatable promotions and jackpots that can turn any mundane moment into a gold. Golden Opportunity at Golden Nugget Online Casino. Take a spin on the slots, challenge yourself at the tables, or join a live dealer game to feel the thrill of real-time action, all from the comfort of your own devices.

Why settle for less when you can go for the gold at Golden Nugget Online Casino. Gambling problem call Connects Ontario 1866531-260-19 and over, physically present in Ontario. Eligibility restrictions apply. See Golden Nuggett Casino.com for details. Please play responsibly. Wow, it looks like Donald Trump bent the knee to Zoran Mamdami during their Oval Office meeting together. They held a press conference after, and Donald Trump was like fawning over Mamdani. Let me just show you what happened.

A reporter asked Mamdani if you believe Donald Trump's a fascist and Donald Trump's. You can call me that. Just call me whatever you want. Donald Trump bent the knee. Here play this clip. I clarify your answer to Stephen Nelson. He asked about your comment, called the president of fascist. And your answer was, both President Trump and I have been clear about our positions and our views.

Are you affirming that you think President Trump is a fascist? I've spoken about. That's okay. You can just say, yeah. It's easier. It's easier than explaining it. Donald Trump also then said that Mamdani told him that a lot of the voters for Mamdani were Trump voters. And he's like, I'm great with that. That's amazing.

Here play this clip. We find it. And I think you're going to see some very positive things happen. And then is the potential to imply that if I would do that. Absolutely. And the mayor would like to be here for that meeting because I know he feels very strongly. I think you feel very, very strongly about peace in the Middle East. We desperately want it.

And that's something that I shared with the president that when I spoke to New Yorkers who had voted for the president last November on Hillside Avenue and Fordham Road, I asked them why. I heard again and again two major reasons. One was that they wanted an end to forever wars. wars, they wanted an end to the taxpayer dollars we had, funding violations of human rights, and they wanted to address the cost of living crisis. And I appreciated the chance to discuss both of those things. You said a lot of my voters actually voted for him. And I'm okay with that. I'll do that. I'll sign it. Give it to me. I'll sign it in a minute. That's pretty good.

Mr. President, Mr. President. Mr. President. Yes, please. Next up, Mamdani's asked by a reporter why you referred to Donald Trump as a despot watch Trump's response right here, play this clip. And some very liberal people, he won't surprise it because they already like him. And Mr. Montani, it sounds like you had a productive discussion. But just days ago, he referred to President Trump as a despot who betrayed the country. He said he would be his worst nightmare and accused of having a fascist agenda. Are you planning to retract any of these remarks in order to improve the relationship?

I think both President Trump and I, we are very clear about our positions and our views. and what I really appreciate about the president is the meeting that we had focused not on places of disagreement, which there are many, and also focused on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers. And frankly, that is something that could transform the lives of the eight and a half million people who are currently struggling under a cost of living crisis with one and four living in poverty. And the meeting came back again and again to what it could look like to lift those New Yorkers out of struggle and start to deliver them a city that they could do more than just struggle to afford it, but actually start to live in it.

And I've been called much worse than a despot, so it's not that insulting. Maybe, I think he'll change his mind after we get to working together. Yes, please. And Trump says that he thinks Mamdami's going to be a great mayor, and he's going to be great for crime, and he's going to be great for reducing crime, great for, great for New York City. Huh? Here, play this clip. Very well. And I wanted to congratulate the mayor. He really ran an incredible race against you know a lot of smart people starting with the early primaries against some very

tough people very smart people and they beat him and he beat them easily and i congratulated him and we talked about some things in very strong common like housing and getting housing built and uh food and prices and the price of oil is coming way down that anything i do is going to be good for new york if i can get prices down it's good for new york and we're We've got them down, way down from last year. We have, as you know, I've been saying to a lot of people, Walmart said that Thanksgiving this year is exactly 25% less than last year. So that's good for New York, good for everybody.

But I just want to congratulate. I think you're going to have hopefully a really great mayor. The better he does, the happier I am, I will say. There's no difference in party. There's no difference in anything. And we're going to be helping him to make everybody's dream come true. having a strong and very safe New York and congratulations, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you.

Then Mamdani responded that I appreciated meeting with Donald Trump. Let's play this clip right here. Thank you. I appreciate it. Please. I appreciated the meeting with the president. And as he said, it was a productive meeting focused on a place of shared admiration and love, which is New York City, and the need to deliver affordability to New Yorkers, the eight and a half million people who call our city their home, who are struggling to afford life in the most expensive city in the United States of America.

We spoke about rent, we spoke about groceries, we spoke about utilities, we spoke about the different ways in which people are being pushed out. And I appreciated the time with the president. I appreciated the conversation. I look forward to working together to deliver that affordability for New Yorkers. Thank you very much. Any questions, please? Mayor-elect Mamdani then said that this is what I told the president

that I've been focused on affordability. Here, play this clip. I want for you, Mr. President, you'll be seeing a second, but first of all, from the mayor of that, you're both from different parts of the political perspective. You're both populist. I just wondered to what extent with the president's campaign style, his techniques, his social needs, inspired any part of your campaign. Well, I actually told the president that, you know, so much of the focus of our campaign has been on the cost of living crisis. And when we asked those New Yorkers who had voted for the president, when we saw an increase in his numbers, in New York City that came back to the same issue. Cost of living, cost of living, cost of living. And they spoke about the cost of groceries, the cost of rent, the cost of con ed, the cost of childcare.

And too often, politicians are looking to lecture to New Yorkers what they should care about as opposed to listen. And when we spoke to those voters who voted for President Trump, we heard them speak about cost of living. We focused on that same cost of living. And that's where I am really looking forward to delivering for New Yorkers in partnership with the president on the affordability agenda.

And I think we have to work a little bit. We talked about Con Edison. We have to work a little bit and get any of the prices because, you know, we've gotten fuel prices way down, but it hasn't shown up in Con Edison. And we're going to have to talk to them. You know, if we're saying, sending them fuel at a much lower price than it was a year ago, which is true, we have to get Con Edison to start lowering the rates. Absolutely. Trump then says that he believes Mamdani will do a very good job. Let's play it.

President Trump, President Trump, Stephen Nelson, for me. New York Post. I've got a question for you and then also one for the mayor of left. For you, you prefer this Mr. Montaigne as a communist. You describe why you feel that way. And also, will you do anything to stop him from arresting Prime Minister Nethaup with he visits to New York? Well, we didn't discuss your second part of the question. And on your first part, I mean, he's got views out there, but who knows? I mean, we're going to see what works or he's going to change also. We all change. I change a lot. I change a lot from When I first came to office, it's now quite a while ago.

It's quite a while. My first term was great. We had the greatest economy in the history of our country. We're doing even better now. We're doing much better now than we did even the first term. And I can tell you, some of my views have changed. And we had discussions on something. I'm not going to discuss what they were, but that I feel very confident that he can do a very good job.

I think he's going to be, I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually. And some very liberal people, he won't surprise it because they already like her. Cooking Thanksgiving is high stakes. It feels like one dried-out turkey can ruin it all. That's why I love my chef IQ sense. This wireless cooking thermometer takes the guesswork out of holiday cooking. Now, the USDA says turkeys, they got to hit 165 degrees Fahrenheit to be safe. Your eyes, they can deceive.

But Chef IQ ensures you hit that perfect temp every time. Whether you're roasting, grilling, panseering, even, smoke in the turkey, it's got you covered. It couldn't be easier. Just insert the sensor, tell the app what you're cooking, then sit back and relax. Chef IQ Sense tells you when to flip, take it off the heat, and even how long to let it rest. Basically, it's like having a personal chef watching the stove so you can hang out with your guests. No more oven peeking, no more dried out turkey, just perfectly cooked meals every time. And it works for steaks, chicken, fish, whatever you're cooking, you'll wonder how you ever cooked without it. Plus, it's the ultimate

gift. Perfect for seasoned cooks, kitchen rookies, and everyone in between. Now get 30% off sitewide with code mitus at chef IQ.com. That's chef IQ.com promo code Midas. Trump has then asked this question about Zelensky where Donald Trump gives a horrific response about his views on Ukraine and that Zelensky is going to need to take the deal here, play this clip. But, I want to ask you also about this Ukraine plan. Yeah. President Zelensky said today that his country would risk either giving up a partner or giving up his dignity. There's been criticism that this deal... You mean he doesn't like it?

It's unclear. He was sort of... Well, he'll have to like it. And if he doesn't like it, then, you know, they should just keep fighting, I guess, you know? The suggestion that he made, though, was that if he doesn't accept it, that the U.S. would pull back its support for Ukraine. Well, at some point, he's going to have to accept it. something. He hasn't accepted. You remember right in the Oval Office not so long ago. I said, you don't have the cards. Don't forget, I inherited this war. I would have never, this war

never would have happened. I inherited this war. And I thought he should have made a deal a year ago, two years ago. The ultimate deal would have been if it never started. That would have been the good deal. That could have been done too if you had the right president, but you didn't have the right president. Trump was then asked about the report about the Coast Guard, making swastikas no longer hate symbols. Let's play it. I was wondering if you could clear up some confusion around a Washington Post report. There was this explosive report that the Coast Guard is no longer going to characterize swastikas in uses as hate symbols. DHS called that a lie and fake news.

Can you clear up? I don't know anything about it. When was this written? I think yesterday. Well, look, the Coast Guard's an incredible group of people. I know very well. We just ordered a lot of new Coast Guard cutters, beautiful, the most magnificent ship. They look like yachts with lots of guns on them. So I don't know, I haven't seen any report like that, but certainly we want them to remain a great force, and they are. And then Mamdani was asked about Middle East. Here, play the clip.

Mr. President, you did the piece in all the nine months around the world. I would like to ask Mr. Mamdani, you've accused the U.S. government of committing genocide in Gaza, why President Trump were working on these. Why that? I've spoken about the Israeli government committing genocide, and I've spoken about our government funding it. And I shared with the president in our meeting about the concern that many New Yorkers have

of wanting their tax dollars to go towards the benefit of New Yorkers and their ability to afford basic dignity. And what we see right now is we're in the ninth consecutive year of more than 100,000 schoolchildren being homeless in our city. And there's a desperate need not only for the following of human rights, but also the following through on the promises we've made New Yorkers, and I appreciated the meeting we had and the work that we can do. Do you agree that President Trump did do a piece and worked hard to make the peace

because you work hard to do the peace in the East and everywhere? Do you agree with that? I appreciate all efforts towards peace, and I shared with President Trump that when I spoke to Trump voters on Hillside Avenue, including one of whom was a pharmacist that spoke about how President Trump's father actually went to that pharmacy, not too far from Jamaica States, that people were tired of seeing our tax dollars fund, wars. And I also believe that we have to follow through on the international human rights.

And I know that still today, those are being violated. And that continues to be work that has to be done, no matter where we're speaking of. Then Donald Trump said that he would be comfortable living in New York City with Mamdani. Play the clip. Okay. How about you? You go ahead. You're a billionaire. You've got a different address nowadays than you used to. You used to call New York City home. Would you feel comfortable living in New York City under a mom-document. Yeah, I would, I really would, especially after the meeting. Absolutely.

What makes you comfortable? We agree on a lot more than I would have thought. I think he's, I want him to do a great job, and we'll help him do a great job. You know, he may have different views, but in many ways, you know, we were discussing when Bernie Sanders was out of the race, I picked up a lot of his votes, and people had no idea because he was strong on not getting ripped off in trade and lots of the things that I practiced and been very successful on tariffs, a lot of things. Bernie Sanders and I agreed on much more than people thought.

And when he was put out of the race, I think quite unfairly, if you want to know the truth, many of the Bernie Sanders voters voted for me. And I felt very comfortable, frankly, in seeing that and saying that. And, you know, it just turned out to be a statistical truth. But no, I feel very comfortable. I would feel very, very comfortable being in New York, and I think much more so after the meeting. Yes, please.

You can see all of the young interns and young workers at the White House were thrilled to see Mom Donnie, and I think Donald Trump probably saw that. Huge crowds of some of the young workers right there out there who were at the White House and who were there here, play this clip. Any minute now, it was supposed to be at 3 o'clock,

and we are right there. You see the huge group that is gathered on the White House. House complex, everybody waiting for the arrival of New York City's Democratic Socialist Mayor-elect, Zoran Mamdani. We're going to- As Jake Sherman, who covers Congress writes, Trump showering praise on Mamdani in the White House may throw House Republicans for a loop. The House GOP signaled their entire 2026 campaign is to tie Democrats to Mom Donnie, and Donald Trump's out there saying

that he loves Mom Donnie. He loves Mom Donnie right now. And remember what Donald Trump, though, said a few weeks ago when he was on Fox, he said, I'm going to call him my little communist play this clip. Mr. President, see these buildings. A lot of them in New York City, you built. I do. That's called capitalism, not socialism. We have Mom Donnie, who is ahead in the polls here. What's your reaction? It's amazing. It's up by 20. I call him my little communist. He's my little communist mayor. Or remember when Donald Trump said that he better be very careful what he says to me, Zoran. Mom Donnie's better be very careful. Here, play this clip. Well, I was hitting him a little hard, too, in all fairness.

I was, you know, hard to be totally friendly toward the opponent. You know, his opponent wasn't. He had some interesting opponents. But he ran a good race. I don't know exactly what he means by Turn the Volume Up, because Turn the Volume Up, he has to be careful what he says that to me. But nobody really was able. I said, what does that mean, turn the volume up?

Does that mean, let's go at it? Yeah, exactly. I don't think so. I mean, he was very nice in calling. as you know and we're going to have a meeting i guess we meet at three o'clock today and i think it's going to be quite civil we'll find out you'll be the first to know or remember here when donald trump falsely suggested that mom dani is in the country illegally do you remember that we're going to be watching that very carefully and a lot of people saying he's here illegally he's you know we're

going to look at everything but and ideally uh he's going to turn out to be much less than a communist but right now he's a communist that's not a socialist you know i've always said we will not have socialism in this country in the speeches i said well what he's they skipped socialism and you get a lot of them like that and you see aOC she's out there with her you know bad IQ well here's what he's saying today that he wants to see no crime at all he goes i believe zoron's going to stop crime in new york play this clip well i think if we didn't get along whether it's cut off or just make it a little bit difficult or not give as much we want to see i use the term we don't want good money going after bed and we just we don't want that to happen I don't think that's going

to happen I did say that you know subject to what what policies are being said we had a meeting today that actually surprised me he wants to see no crime he wants to see housing being built he wants to see rents coming down all things that I agree with now we may disagree how we get there the rent coming down I think one of one of the things I really gleaned very very much today he'd like to see him come down ideally by building a lot of additional housing that's the ultimate way he agrees with that and so do i but if i read the newspapers and the stories i don't hear i don't hear that but i hear i heard him say it today and i think that's a very positive step no i don't expect i expect and trump said i believe he said things that are

very interesting here play this clip we discuss crime more than ice per se we discuss crime And he doesn't want to see crime, and I don't want to see crime. And I have very little doubt that we're not going to get along on that issue. He wants to, and he sent some things who are very interesting, very interesting as to housing construction. And he wants to see houses go up. He wants to see a lot of houses created, a lot of apartments built, et cetera. And, you know, we actually, people would be shocked. But I want to see the same thing.

Wow, wow, wow. Could you believe your eyes that that's what was taking place? the Oval Office, Donald Trump, bending the knee to Zoran, Mom, Don. We'll keep you posted every step of the way here on the Midas Touch Network, and thanks so much for watching. Love this video? Support independent media and unlock exclusive content, add free videos, and custom emojis by becoming a paid member of our YouTube channel today.

You can also gift memberships to others. Let's keep growing. Together.