The Donald Trump v Zohran Mamdani Show
Americast
BBC
4.2 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 28 November 2025
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode, Sarah and Anthony unpack one of the most surprising political moments of the year - when New York’s incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani met Donald Trump in the Oval Office. After weeks of insulting each other during the mayoral campaign, Republicans and Democrats are still reacting to what turned out to be a very amicable and friendly meeting.
Trump has promised to help Mamdani make New York City a success, and “great again”, but what does this actually mean, and will the US president do it? We also look at how Mamdani will be navigating the wider politics of being a mayor, particularly with midterm elections in 2026. In New York state, can Mamdani persuade his Democratic governor to put up taxes for the wealthiest? And how will he balance maintaining good relations with both Trump and Demoratic socialists in New York?
Meanwhile, with Trump’s ally Elise Stefanik running for governor, how will the Republican campaign deal with the president’s new attitude towards Mamdani?
Sarah and Anthony are joined by Nick Reisman, POLITICO’s Albany Bureau Chief and New York politics expert.
HOSTS:
- Sarah Smith, North America Editor - Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent
GUEST:
- Nick Reisman, Albany Bureau Chief for Politico
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This episode was made by George Dabby with Adriana Urbano. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.5 | One of the most surprising scenes we've seen in the Oval Office in the last few weeks and months |
| 0:10.7 | was when the new mayor of New York, Zora Mandani, came to meet Donald Trump. |
| 0:15.8 | These are two men who have been trading insults for weeks during the election campaign for the New York mayor. |
| 0:22.3 | And now suddenly they're all smiles, handshakes, warm body language, looking like the best of friends. |
| 0:29.0 | What is going on here? |
| 0:30.6 | Have they discovered that they actually like each other? |
| 0:32.9 | Is their political benefit for Donald Trump in being nice to Mam Dani or Mam Dani getting on with Donald Trump? |
| 0:39.5 | What does it tell us about how Zora and Mamdani might actually govern New York? |
| 0:44.3 | Welcome to Ameriast. |
| 0:48.0 | AmeriCast from BBC News. |
| 0:51.1 | When Donald Trump calls, they say, yes, sir. Right away, sir. |
| 0:54.6 | Happy to lick your boot, sir. |
| 0:56.4 | We are the sickest country in the world. |
| 0:58.9 | Oh, dear. |
| 0:59.6 | Are you worried that billionaires are going to go hungry? |
| 1:02.5 | Of course the president supports peaceful protest. |
| 1:04.4 | What a stupid question. |
| 1:05.5 | Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? |
| 1:14.1 | Hello. Jeffrey Epstein. Hello, it's Sarah here in the BBC's Washington Bureau. |
| 1:17.6 | And it's Anthony, right next to Sarah here in Washington. |
| 1:20.7 | And Anthony, we've got a guest with us today, which is really good news. |
... |
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