Mamdani reveals weirdest thing he saw at White House, gives away Trump plan

New York City's Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani discussed his recent visit to the White House to meet President Donald Trump. When asked about the strangest thing he saw there, Mamdani said it was a dossier titled "UFC at the Oval Office in the White House". The UFC or Ultimate Fighting Championship is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas.

During his appearance on The Adam Friedland Show on Monday, the 34-year-old Democratic socialist noted he spotted a "UFC" coffee table book among Trump's reading materials and said he had "no idea" that the White House was scheduled to host the mixed martial arts event on the South Lawn in June to commemorate the 250th anniversary of America.

"I was just flipping through that," Mamdani said. When asked to explain more, he said it was basically a folder with drawings showing what the octagon-shaped fighting arena might look like when it's set up at the White House next summer.

On being asked whether he intended to attend the fight, the mayor-elect chuckled and said: "No," The Independent reported.

Trump first mentioned the sports event in July during a speech at the Iowa State Fair.

It's planned for June 14, 2026, which is also his 80th birthday, and will feature a fighter weigh-in held in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

In a September Fox News interview, UFC President and CEO Dana White said the event would only seat about 5,000 people because of security concerns. That's much lower than Trump's original estimate of up to 25,000 attendees.

Trump has a long association with combat sports and is a long-time friend of White.

IT WAS OK FOR MAMDANI TO CALL ME FASCIST: TRUMP

Last week Mamdani met Donald Trump for the first time after winning the New York City mayoral polls held on November 4.

Trump broke from his usual habit of mocking Mamdani, instead giving the New York City mayor-elect a warm welcome at the White House and even praising him.

Trump even brushed aside one of Mamdani's sharpest past criticisms, saying it was okay for the 34-year-old to call him a "fascist." What followed was a small exchange of smiles, quite contrary to the months of insults that both had been trading during campaigning for the mayoral polls.

Speaking to NBC News a day after his White House visit, Mamdani said he still believed President Trump is a "fascist" and a "despot," even after both men called their Friday discussion "productive".

"Everything that I've said in the past, I continue to believe," Mamdani said.

"And that's the thing that I think is important in our politics, is that we don't shy away from where we have disagreements, but we understand what it is that brings us to that table, because I'm not coming into the Oval Office to make a point or make a stand. I'm coming in there to deliver for New Yorkers," he said on NBC News.

The mayor-elect said he went into the White House meeting wanting to build a functional working relationship centred on issues that keep New Yorkers "up late at night."

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