Photo: AFP
Whoever coined the phrase “Politics makes for strange bedfellows” may not have had Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani in mind, but that’s what the President and Hizzoner have become. Not only did Trump give Mamdani his cell phone number, but headlines were generated when Mamdani revealed that he has called or texted the leader of the free world at least a few times since then. Can two polarized men share a phone call without driving each other crazy? Former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino believes the odd couple can get along, at least for a little while, anyway. Speaking on 710 WOR’s Mendte in the Morning program, Astorino says that Trump’s style of engaging with people is the reason why the pairing could work out.
“It’s really strange, but this is Donald Trump, honestly,” Astorino told host Larry Mendte. “Anyone who knows Donald Trump knows that he will basically take a call from anyone and will give people time that sometimes don’t deserve it, but he will. He opens the doors to listen to all different points of view. What people don’t realize about him [is that] he will sometimes make a decision that kind of surprises people because he talked to different people. So, it’s not surprising to me that they have some sort of casual relationship.”
At the end of the day, though, Astorino says the bromance will only work for so long when one of the two is clearly the alpha dog: “Mamdani is the mayor of New York City. Obviously, Donald Trump has a very big soft spot for New York City; this is where he grew up, this is where he lived until very recently. I don’t know how far it’s going to get Mamdani because they’re going to be at odds, and they already are, on some very major issues, including what’s going on right now with ICE.”
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