DONNIE VS. MAMDANI

Donald Trump’s much-hyped meeting with Zohran Mamdani raises the curtain on the next act in his tumultuous presidency. How much drama are we in for, exactly?

• Ah, late November. The season of pumpkin spice and forced family fun, when millions of Americans mentally brace themselves for hanging out with distant out-of-towners and managing complex relationships. And so it goes for President Donald Trump, who is welcoming New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to the White House today — capping a long-running, bitter feud full of name-calling and threats, with a cautiously friendly sit-down, at least as of this writing.

• Mamdani is the suave 34-year-old democratic socialist who happens to be the living embodiment of everything MAGAworld hates. And yet both men seemed to be taking down the temperature. “I think we’ll get along fine,” Trump said. While Mamdani didn’t go that far, he said he’d work with Trump where they have common interests (and oppose him where they don’t). “I’ll be ready for whatever happens,” he said.

• Trump loves to battle people live on camera in the Oval Office. But Mamdani is a world-class communicator, who is prepared for fireworks. Why, exactly, did Trump even take this meeting?

• “Trump wants to be associated [with] any of life’s perceived winners, no matter who they are, and he will talk about Mamdani’s big win and all his coverage so long as he thinks Mamdani may like him. It never changes no matter the interlocutor,” Politico’s Jonathan Martin tweeted. “And if Mamdani comes in charming him [with] Queens anecdotes, that should do it.”

Regardless of how this meeting goes, it marks a major new fault line at the center of American politics.

• These two men have already been lobbing attacks at each other from afar for months. Mamdani took direct aim at Trump in his election night victory speech. “If there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power. This is not only how we stop Trump, it’s how we stop the next one,” Mamdani said. “So, Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up!”

• Mamdani has vowed to “Trump-proof” New York City. But the reality is daunting. The Trump administration has repeatedly infiltrated Democrat-led cities, deploying an army of immigration agents to wreak havoc on residents. What’s more, Trump’s notorious Border Patrol chief is expected to deploy to NYC after Mamdani is sworn in in January.

• The Trump administration is flirting with pulling federal funding from the city, which receives some $7.4 billion. That’s the big stick that Trump will inevitably wield to pressure the mayor-elect for years to come. But the ever-unpredictable president changed his tune after the mayoral election: “We’ll help them,” Trump said. “We want New York to be successful. We’ll help them a little bit, maybe.” Helping blue cities would be a big change for Trump, so… we’ll see about that one.

• Major questions loom after today’s meeting: Will Zohran discover a new playbook for Democrats to battle Trump? Or will Trump prove that even the mayor of the country’s largest city can’t stop his authoritarian streak? And if they go to war, what will that mean for New Yorkers... and for the entire country?

The odds may be stacked against Mamdani. But he’s seemingly in good spirits, posting a smiling selfie from his flight to the nation’s capital.

WHAT ELSE?

Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell is getting special privileges in prison, such as extra toilet paper, after the Trump administration moved her to a cozier prison facility, according to emails obtained by the Atlantic reports. The convicted sex trafficker is apparently in such good spirits that she regularly uses upbeat phrases while talking with her family, including “yippe skipee” regarding her brother’s planned visit, and “I hear you are a media star!” to a sibling who defended her publicly. Now why would she be getting perks, after declaring Trump “a gentleman in all respects?” Pure coincidence, I’m sure.

The White House wants to serve Ukraine to Russia for Thanksgiving. It’s pushing Kyiv to agree to cede Ukrainian territory to Russia by next week’s holiday, or say goodbye to U.S. support, the Washington Post reports. The so-called peace plan is “pure Russian,” a European diplomat told the outlet. Trump confirmed the Thanksgiving deadline today.

The Coast Guard issued a new order classifying swastikas and nooses as hate symbols, according to the Washington Post, after the outlet reported that the symbols were planned to be reclassified as merely “politically divisive.” Weird that the Coast Guard had to clarify their stance on, uh, swastikas, but these are strange times!

Supporters of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are laying the groundwork for the brainworm survivor to run for president again. It’s still far from certain whether RFK Jr. would wanna launch another longshot bid.

Organizers of the 2028 Olympics are seemingly appealing to Trump: Most of the members on its board of directors have direct ties to the president. A few examples: Former Trump Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and people who have donated boatloads to his political operations. What’s next, Trump lights the torch at the opening ceremony?

Only 12 percent of Americans believe that billionaires have a positive impact on society, according to a survey. I asked Grok, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, if people would dislike him even more if he becomes a trillionaire: “If Musk hits $1T (projections: by 2027-2030), expect a backlash wave—more protests, ‘tax Elon’ campaigns, and memes painting him as a Bond villain.” Good ideas, Grok!

MAGA Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) was caught with sex workers in Tbilisi, Georgia while he was running for Congress, NOTUS reports. (Mills’ office didn’t respond to a request for comment from the outlet.) This is just the latest eye-popping scandal for Mills. Seriously, how do these people get elected in the first place?

Cryptocurrency is plummeting, erasing some $400 billion in value. “The bloodbath has left no corner of the market untouched, and is reviving the debate about crypto as a long-term asset,” Axios writes. So yes, you were right to advise your hypebeast cousin against putting his life savings into Fartcoin.

The Fugees’s Prakazrel “Pras” Michel was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being convicted of illegally funnelling millions million in foreign donations to Barack Obama’s reelection campaign in 2012.

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE EMAIL…

That good ol’ Mary Jane is taking over Thanksgiving, according to the Wall Street Journal. The marijuana industry is taking advantage of looser restrictions in many states, with an eye toward products for turkey day. “This year, don’t be surprised if Grandma gets a little loopy after toasting with a cannabis-infused beverage in her wine glass, or your aunt brings two varieties of stuffing — one made with pot-laced rosemary oil, one without,” the outlet writes. Great, the Journal wants your family to know you totally got high on that “walk with your cousin” you took right before stuffing your face with mashed potatoes. Thanks a lot, WSJ!

Vanity Fair got an exclusive look at never-before-seen wedding pictures of Zohran Mamdani and Rama Duwaji, New York City’s newest power couple. “It’s crazy to think if we tried to do this today — because we can’t go anywhere with this guy,” the photographer said, nodding to Mamdani’s incredible popularity in the city.

Fátima Bosch Fernández of Mexico won Miss Universe 2025, a remarkable turn of events after she was publicly scolded by one of the judges. After the win, Fernández told reporters that she would like to be “a person that changed a little bit the prototype of what is a Miss Universe and a real person that gives the heart.”

Archaeologists in Hungary discovered an unsealed a Roman sarcophagus from 1,700 years ago — containing the complete skeleton of a young woman, surrounded by coins, bronze figures, and fully intact glass vessels.

Daniel Radcliffe, aka the OG Harry Potter, wrote a letter to the new kid playing Harry Potter in HBO’s reboot. “I do not want to be like a specter in the lives of these children at all,” Radcliffe said. “I just wanted to write to him to say, ‘I hope you have the best time, and an even better time than I did. I had a great time, but I hope you have an even better one.’” Which of them do we think would win in quidditch?

I asked for your Halloween pet pictures, and y’all didn’t disappoint.

“Brain was made of jello!” Agnes writes, thankfully clarifying the question that immediately popped into my mind.

Forgot to send me your pet costumes this year? Send ‘em to [email protected]!