It was a break-the-internet moment if there ever was one. Unpredictable, at times perplexing and rich, with the kinds of surreal moments social media feeds on.
After Friday’s meeting between President Trump and Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York, certain corners of the internet did, in fact, appear to be broken — or at least temporarily off-kilter — including the sprawling online ecosystem that has emerged from the Make America Great Again movement.
This raucous hive, which tends to hype up every win by the president, was uncharacteristically muted in response to the meeting with Mr. Mamdani. What was supposed to be a “socialist showdown,” in the words of a Fox News chyron, was instead filled with smiles, good vibes and the president’s endorsement of Mr. Mamdani’s leadership.
“I feel very confident that he can do a very good job,” Mr. Trump told reporters.
With no ideological confrontation to rally around, political influencers and commentators associated with the MAGA movement struggled to summon a unified response. The diverging reactions across the conservative spectrum — from longstanding Trump loyalists, widely read anonymous posters and users representing the young America First wing — underscored the divisions and infighting roiling the right.
Many of the MAGA faithful opted for a more tentative approach, spotlighting the president’s softer side.
One influential white nationalist account argued that Mr. Trump was sparing Mr. Mamdani a public humiliation. Another post making the rounds, by a pro-Trump YouTuber, suggested the interaction between the two men was proof of the president’s sense of humor.
Some of the movement’s most authoritative voices, like Tucker Carlson, had yet to weigh in as of Sunday afternoon. Even the president’s own clip account on X, Rapid Response 47, a reliable booster of all things Trump, opted to ignore Friday’s sit-down altogether.
Since his primary victory, Mr. Mamdani has been the target of a steady stream of attacks by broad swaths of the right. Branding him an “antisemitic socialist,” Republicans routinely sounded the alarm on his platforms and ridiculed what they said were “radical” stances on issues like Israel and policing. And as recently as June, Mr. Trump called Mr. Mamdani a “communist lunatic” in a post on Truth Social, a label that has echoed throughout right-wing podcasts and media.
Mr. Mamdani has condemned what he calls Mr. Trump’s “fascist agenda,” a label Mr. Trump let the mayor-elect off the hook for during Friday’s meeting.
Nick Fuentes, the 27-year-old white nationalist who has emerged in recent months as the MAGA movement’s chief antagonist, seemed to revel in the disarray set off by Friday’s meeting.
A frequent critic of Mr. Trump and his acolytes in the Republican establishment, Mr. Fuentes has called for a total immigration ban and for the administration country to cut ties with Israel.
He characterized the Republicans’ hostile stance toward Mr. Mamdani as “political theater.”
To Mr. Fuentes, the meeting only underscored the political hypocrisy of the MAGA movement’s leadership in Washington and its prominent voices online.
“It’s kayfabe, it’s all a soap opera,” Mr. Fuentes said during a stream of his “America First” program on Friday evening. “They don’t believe anything they’re peddling.”
One immediate winner to emerge from the encounter has been Jack Posobiec, a far-right podcaster and activist who was recently credentialed as a member of the White House press pool. As Mr. Trump and Mr. Mamdani fielded questions from reporters, Mr. Posobiec pressed the mayor-elect on his campaign’s policy proposals, asking whether Mr. Mamdani intended to increase property taxes for “white people” in New York City.
“No, we intend to create a fair property tax system,” Mr. Mamdani answered.
The skirmish earned Mr. Posobiec plaudits from those hungry for a show of resistance. Benny Johnson, a conservative commentator, and Andrew Kolvet, the spokesman for the conservative group Turning Point USA, each praised Mr. Posobiec for going toe to toe with Mr. Mamdani. “This is how it’s done,” Mr. Johnson wrote on X.
One critique came from one of Mr. Trump’s most loyal backers: the far-right activist Laura Loomer. On X, Ms. Loomer wrote that it was “wild” to see a “Jihadist communist” stand in the Oval Office, referring to Mr. Mamdani. She quickly clarified in another post, however, that she was not “condemning” the president.
The varied response to Mr. Trump’s reception of Mr. Mamdani is the latest look at the political fractures dividing the movement. In recent weeks, the infighting over the release of the Epstein files, antisemitism, support for Israel, and the continued debate about cost of living have plagued the party.
Meanwhile, Mr. Fuentes continues to expand his influence as a Trump critic becoming one of the leading voices for young conservatives.
As MAGA’s online communities oscillated, much of the rest of social media reveled in a deviation from the usual political script.
Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Mr. Mamdani noted how the president bonded with the mayor-elect over issues of affordability and their stature as political outsiders. Mr. Trump also spoke approvingly on Friday of another establishment outsider, Senator Bernie Sanders, adding that he and Mr. Sanders, too, “agreed on much more than people thought.”
Mr. Mamdani’s spokeswoman, Dora Pekec, wrote in a statement that “the vast majority of Americans are deeply frustrated with a rigged economy and a broken political system.” She added: “While the mayor-elect shared his many disagreements with the president, they agreed on tackling the affordability crisis that is crushing New Yorkers.”
Still, many on the right refused to view the day’s events as a political capitulation.
Stephen K. Bannon, who served as chief strategist for a time during Mr. Trump’s first administration and remains a confidant to the president, was one of the lone figures trying to shape the perception of the day’s events. During a livestream of Mr. Bannon’s podcast, “War Room,” where he was joined by Mr. Posobiec, he briefly theorized that Mr. Trump’s buddy act was, in fact, a strategic trap.
“He’s going to boost Mr. Mamdani, whose policies will crater the city,” Mr. Bannon said. “Trump will let him collapse because he’s a Marxist jihadist.”
As the pair recapped the Oval Office encounter, an undercurrent of jealousy toward the budding bromance seemed to peek through.
How could MAGA’s implacable leader be smitten with a Muslim socialist? Perhaps it was Mr. Mamdani’s disarming “happy talk” and “charm,” as Mr. Posobiec suggested. Whatever it was, they agreed, it was a blatant act of political seduction by Mr. Mamdani.
“That little smile,” Mr. Posobiec said, shaking his head.
“It’s not a smile,” Mr. Bannon replied. “It’s a smirk.”
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