Right-wing commentator Laura Loomer attacked New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani for standing beside President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office. Loomer posted on X: “Wild to allow a jihadist communist to stand behind the President’s desk in the Oval Office.”“Sad to see,” Loomer added. The joint press conference caught both left wing and right wing off guard. Many were struck by the image of the socialist mayor-elect standing beside the MAGA-aligned President. Social media framed it as a moment where the “communist” met the “fascist.”This was not the first time Loomer targeted Mamdani. Earlier this week, she criticised him for sharing a simple selfie taken aboard a plane. Although the image appeared harmless, she wrote: “Why not just take the train? Also, is that First class? Such a man of the people…” Her reply fed into a frequent MAGA argument that Mamdani is hypocritical for using air travel while promoting working-class transport options. Mamdani was flying from NYC to Washington to meet Trump. The conservative fireband has accused Mamdani of repeatedly of being out of touch with “real Americans” and claims his policies, including free public buses, taxing the rich and rent freezes, will leave New York City “doomed.” Last week she argued that Mamdani should be “denaturalized” and added: “Only in America can an Islamic immigrant from Africa openly support terrorism, maintain their citizenship and become Mayor of America’s most iconic city.” She also claimed people were placing Polymarket bets on “whether or not Zohran Mamdani will be deported.” In May, Loomer went all in on the Xenophobic and Islamophobic hate saying: “Get ready for another 9/11,” while calling him a “pro-HAMAS Muslim socialist.”Mamdani, who defeated independent candidate and former governor Andrew Cuomo in November, built his campaign around housing costs, better transport access and working-class issues. His meeting with Trump at the White House ended on unexpectedly warm terms. The two agreed on several points and Trump even went out of his way to defend him, telling reporters that Mamdani “is not a jihadist” and calling him “a great person doing the best for NYC.”The shift stunned many in the MAGA base. Trump had previously mocked Mamdani as a “communist lunatic,” and his change in tone reminded Republicans of his recent reversal on H1-B visas. Several of them argued that Trump was once again drifting from the “America First” agenda.
