New Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani have spent months trading political blows from opposite sides of the ideological divide.

The president has repeatedly attacked the progressive New York City mayor and warned that his policies would be disastrous.

Mamdani, meanwhile, has turned taking shots at Trump into something of a side hustle, repeatedly accusing the president of abusing his power and steering the country off a cliff.

NYC mayor Mamdani was left visibly caught off guard when a reporter finally asked him one question about Donald Trump. (Photos: Zohran Kwame Mamdani Facebook Page; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Yet whenever the two come face to face, the political fireworks seem to fade. 

Over the past year, the president has repeatedly gushed over Mamdani’s looks, calling him “handsome,” “good-looking,” and even saying he’s “better-looking in person.”

So, when a Rolling Stone journalist sat down with the Big Apple’s top guy, the question didn’t come out of nowhere. It was a callback to an unusual pattern that had already become a running political joke.

RS senior writer Jack Crosbie asked the millennial mayor, “We got to talk about Trump. What do you think about Trump constantly saying how handsome you are?”

Startled, Mamdani chuckled, “I, uh … thank you?”

On the magazine’s Instagram page, followers had a field day.

“I think that was the one question I’ve heard that’s actually stumped him lmao,” one person joked. “lol that’s gotta be awkward but nice of him anyway,” another user wrote.

When PolitiFact posted an abbreviated clip from the interview on X, the reactions kept coming.

“Thankful he’s not named ‘Bubba’?” one person cracked, referring to a viral 2018 email between Jeffrey Epstein and his brother, Mark. The email mentioned the president doing something to someone named “Bubba.”

Many online assumed “Bubba” referred to former President Bill Clinton, who adopted the nickname during his 1992 campaign. Mark Epstein later denied that claim. He said the reference was to “a private individual who is not a public figure.”

TikTok, naturally, couldn’t stay quiet either.

“Translation: his obsession with me is weird af,” one commenter wrote in Mamdani’s imagined voice.

“I love how that absolutely threw him off,” said another. “Bro glitched,” a third added. Another imagined the mayor’s internal recovery: “He saw his life flash before his eyes and the PR training came through.”

The pattern goes back to November, when Mamdani made his first White House visit as mayor-elect.

Trump greeted him by saying he looked “even better-looking in person than… on TV.” The compliment marked a sharp reversal after months of campaign trail insults.

During that same Oval Office session, Trump cut Mamdani off mid-answer when asked whether the president was “power-hungry.

Trump told him, “That’s OK. You can just say yes,” then patted Mamdani’s arm.

The handshake that followed was notably gentler than Trump’s usual grip-and-yank — the same soft touch observers clocked when he greeted Vladimir Putin in Alaska last August.

Since then, the compliments have kept coming.

In November 2025, Mamdani returned to the White House during the exchange; the president tried to hit the mayor with his signature power-play pull-and-yank handshake — adding a pat on his hand.

Rather than getting pulled into Trump’s usual “tug-of-war” arm thrust, Mamdani kept his palm up, maintained steady posture, and held his ground without letting Trump throw him off balance.

Its not only that Trump’s thinks Mamdani is cute, but he wants to be like him … a little.

When Trump showed up to an event the next day in a wool coat and wine-colored scarf — a sharp departure from his boxy suit and signature long MAGA red tie — the internet immediately clocked the resemblance to Mamdani’s own streetwear-meets-statesman look from a 2023 press conference.

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New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman appeared on the “Talk Easy Podcast,” and said Trump “has a type” when admiring charismatic men, calling Mamdani “generally viewed as a young, handsome man.”

As for the Rolling Stone moment itself, Mamdani mostly let it go. He didn’t spiral or spar — he laughed, said thanks, and moved the conversation along to his agenda for the city, sports, and pop culture.

Silly as it all sounds, one thing’s clear: Trump has a crush, and this time, he’s not hiding it.

‘That Absolutely Threw Him Off’: Mamdani Visibly Shaken After Reporter Blindsides Him with One Question About Trump