Mamdani’s meeting with Trump was risky — and dangerous

Across the political spectrum with alarm on the right and delight on the left the display of warmth from Donald Trump toward Zohran Mamdani on Friday set off shock waves The president s lavish praise of the New York City mayor-elect in the Oval Office was a -degree turn from his condemnation of the democratic socialist as a pure true communist and a total nut job The stunning reversal made for a great political drama But what does it portend Trump and his MAGA followers are hardly going to forsake their standard mix of bigotry anti-immigrant mania and other political toxins Demagoguery has long fueled the Republican engine and in the months until the midterm elections skullduggery to thwart democracy promises to accelerate rather than slow down The spectacle has rekindled hopes that America can become less polarized and find more common ground But what kind of common ground can or should be ascertained with the leader of the present day s fascistic GOP While countless media outlets have marveled at the appearance of a sudden Trump-Mamdani bromance the spectacle has rekindled hopes that America can become less polarized and find more common ground But what kind of common ground can or should be located with the leader of in the present day s fascistic GOP It s true that Mamdani has a huge stake in diverting the Trump bull from goring New York Billions of dollars are at stake in federal aid to the city and New York would be thrown into a chaotic predicament if the president were to make good on his threats to send in federal troops Mamdani seems to have deftly prevented such repressive actions against his city at least for a while Understandably the mayor-elect s main concern is his upcoming responsibility for New York and its million residents But as vital as the Big Apple is Trump s draconian and dictatorial orders nationwide are also at stake It s unclear that the chemistry between the two leaders will do anything at all to help protect immigrants in Chicago Charlotte Portland Los Angeles or anywhere else in the country The president s accolades for a leftist certainly confounded the perennial left-bashers at Fox News and multiple other right-wing outlets and such discombobulation among pro-MAGA media operatives has been a pleasure to behold But there s more than a wisp of wishful thinking in the air from progressives eager to believe that Trump s effusive statements about Mamdani an avowed socialist will help to legitimize socialism for the American citizens Related Donald Trump invariably falls for a handsome man in a suit Trump s turnaround might cause specific Americans to reconsider their anti-left reflexes But it s also plausible that ripple effects of the episode could help to legitimize in specific people s eyes the president s leadership even while it continues to inflict horrific policies and anti-democratic politics on the country Gracious and avuncular performances by despots are nothing new as when Trump hosted Bill Maher at the White House last spring and the comedian returned the favor by proclaiming that the president had been gracious and measured Neither are cosmetics on the face of a fascist A hazard is that the image of Trump as a tolerant open-minded president in convivial discourse with New York s progressive leader could undercut the solid accusations that Trump is imposing tyrannical policies on America Just a day before he met with Mamdani the president seemed to suggest executing several congressional Democrats who filmed a video reminding U S military personnel of their duty to not obey illegal orders Want more sharp takes on politics Sign up for our free newsletter Standing Room Only written by Amanda Marcotte now also a weekly show on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts The the greater part publicized scant seconds of the general portion of Trump and Mamdani s meeting came when a journalist petitioned about the mayor-elect s past charge that the president is a fascist The exchange was widely revealed as an amusing moment as Trump quipped that Mamdani should just say yes and affirm that the president is a fascist But the danger of normalizing autocracy is heightened when the utterly serious appraisal of Trump as a fascist can be recast as a media punchline Over the weekend Mamdani stood his ground during an interview on NBC s Meet the Press He pointed out that he had replied yes to the reporter s question about Trump being a fascist Everything that I ve announced in the past I continue to believe he added How long Mamdani will remain in Trump s good graces is anyone s guess No doubt the mayor-elect is fully aware that the president could turn on him with a vengeance If Trump can do that to one of his preponderance loyal ideological fighters Georgia Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene he can certainly do it to Mamdani We need your help to stay independent Subscribe in the modern day to aid Salon s commentary To call Trump mercurial is a vast understatement And yet in countless techniques with his rhetoric and with the power of the presidency he has been unwavering and consistent as immigrants being terrorized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and single mothers trying to feed their families know all too well Given all the harm his policies are doing every minute it would be unwise to take seriously Trump s broken-clock pronouncements that are occasionally accurate and decent Democratic socialists don t need Trump s approval We need to defeat his MAGA agenda and movement Right now it s unclear whether what happened with him and Mamdani in the Oval Office will make that defeat any more likely Mamdani and Trump ascertained each other newly useful last Friday Only later will we know who was more effectively using whom While it s all well and good to laud Mamdani s extraordinary political talents and inspiring leadership for social justice at the same time we should recognize that he has entered into an embrace with a rattlesnake Even when it purrs it s still a rattlesnake Read more about Zohran Mamdani Zohran Mamdani took on the entire political establishment and won Democrats keep missing the message Mamdani didn t Republicans implode after stunning Democratic victories The post Mamdani s meeting with Trump was risky and dangerous appeared first on Salon com