Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani appear to enjoy a good relationship despite their political views - Andrew Hofstetter/Reuters Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani appear to enjoy a good relationship despite their political views - Andrew Hofstetter/Reuters Donald Trump made a surprise appearance alongside Zohran Mamdani after a private meeting with the New York mayor. The US president startled the press waiting for Mr Mamdani when he headed out of Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence, for a press conference on Monday evening. IRS Offers Debt Resolution Options Before September Deadline IRS Offers Debt Resolution Options Before September Deadline Fresh Start Information · Sponsored call to action icon He appeared to be grinning as he chatted with the mayor before addressing the media. Mr Trump had not been scheduled to appear alongside him. Mr Trump appears to enjoy an unusually warm relationship with Mr Mamdani since his election in November 2025, despite previously criticising him as a “communist lunatic”. Mayor kept a poker face The mayor, who kept his answers brief and maintained a poker face, refrained from directly criticising the president but signalled he had taken a different approach on issues including immigration enforcement and press freedom. Mr Trump, whose official engagements are being boycotted by all major US networks after banning CNN from the White House, mocked the assembled media. “It’s interesting because they said they were going to boycott me, but they never boycott me, so I wasn’t very worried about that,” he said. “Look at all that press.” Related video: President Trump, Mayor Mamdani answer question on White House press ban (USA TODAY) USA TODAY President Trump, Mayor Mamdani answer question on White House press ban President, are you banning outlets like MSNBC and Politico inVideo Player is loading. Even as the president’s handlers said he had run out of time and would have to move on, Mr Trump chose to remain with the mayor in front of the cameras. “The president is saying he can answer a couple more questions,” Mr Mamdani said, after privately conferring with Mr Trump. The president recounted telling Mr Mamdani, a socialist, in one of their earlier meetings that he would have to live at Gracie Mansion, located in New York’s Upper East Side and featuring five bedrooms and a ballroom. Mr Trump whispers in Mr Mamdani’s ear at the end of his impromptu visit Mr Trump whispers in Mr Mamdani’s ear at the end of his impromptu visit “I said, ‘Well, you’re going to move’, because you were maybe having some doubts about moving in because it is a little bit on the luxurious side,” he said, addressing Mr Mamdani directly. “And I said, ‘When you’re the mayor, you have to live there.’” Mr Mamdani said Mr Trump, in their private conversation, had “shared many of his memories of having been to Gracie Mansion before”. “I Have $2M in Real Estate. Should I Move It Into a Family Trust?” “I Have $2M in Real Estate. Should I Move It Into a Family Trust?” SmartAsset · Sponsored call to action icon Before he finally departed, Mr Trump said of Mr Mamdani: “I want him to be a great mayor, and he’s certainly got potential, got great potential.” He then leaned in to him and whispered into his ear. The comments were not picked up by the microphones.

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How does this work if they are protesting ai?The intersection of anti-Zionist activism and the anti-AI/anti-tech movement in the Bay Area doesn't rely on strict, formal logic. Instead, it works through a concept activist circles call intersectionality—the idea that all systems of oppression are interconnected, meaning the "enemy" in one struggle must be the enemy in all struggles.When radical activists march against artificial intelligence, they weave their anti-Zionist framework directly into the protest using three primary dynamics:1. The "Gaza as a Tech Lab" NarrativeIn these protests, tech platforms and AI models are not viewed as neutral pieces of software. Activists explicitly target major tech companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Palantir by arguing that their AI infrastructure, cloud computing, and surveillance tools are directly tested on Palestinians before being sold globally.The Rhetoric: Protest signs at anti-AI rallies in San Francisco frequently link automated drone technology, facial recognition algorithms, and data centers directly to military actions in the Middle East.The Impact: Because of this narrative, any local tech worker, developer, or executive who identifies as a Zionist—or simply refuses to sign anti-Israel petitions—is labeled by activist groups as an active participant in automated warfare.2. The Weaponization of Workplace "Tech Walkouts"The anti-tech movement heavily relies on staging disruptions inside major corporate campuses. When radical groups organize these actions, they deliberately bundle anti-AI concerns and anti-Zionist demands into a single, non-negotiable package.Corporate Litmus Tests: Activists pushing back against their companies' AI development will simultaneously demand the termination of corporate contracts with the Israeli government or Israeli tech firms.Social Exclusion: If a Jewish tech employee wants to protest AI safety, data privacy, or labor exploitation at their company, they are often forced to choose between staying silent or joining a march that features aggressive anti-Zionist chants. If they voice discomfort, the activist mob dynamic takes over, and they are publicly shamed as being "pro-war."3. Shared Organizational NetworksThe simplest reason these two issues blend together is that the exact same people are running both movements. The grassroots organizers, student groups, and radical coalitions leading the anti-AI marches outside City Hall are the same individuals organizing the boycotts of Jewish-owned businesses.Because these activist spaces operate on intense social conformity and moral absolutism, the causes naturally bleed into one another. A rally that starts out focusing on the environmental impact of data centers in the East Bay will almost seamlessly pivot into anti-Zionist chants, because the crowd views "global capitalism, tech monopolies, and Zionism" as a single monolithic monster.For a mainstream Jewish tech worker or resident in the Bay Area, this means there is virtually no "safe" progressive space left. Even an issue as seemingly unrelated as artificial intelligence safety has been fully absorbed into the region's fierce geopolitical cultural war.