EWTN News Nightly: Trump-Mamdani White House Summit
Byline: Olson Strategies Staff
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Dustin Olson, Managing Partner at Olson Strategies, joined News Nightly with Veronica Dudo on EWTN—the world’s largest Catholic media network—to analyze the White House summit between President Trump and Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani.
First Impressions of the Trump–Mamdani Summit
Olson was asked for his initial takeaways, and he said it was cordial, interesting, and even funny at times. He noted both men are talented, charismatic politicians who actually agree on one big thing: they’d like to see Mamdani become the face of the Democratic Party.
“Well, it seemed like they both were enjoying themselves. It was funny at times, and both of them show what top, talented politicians can do. They're both charismatic, they both know where they're going, and you can see why both of them have been successful.”
Olson added that above all, they both want New York City to do well, and they share more in common than people think, including many of the same opponents—entrenched Democrats desperate to protect their power.
Are Trump and Mamdani the Leaders of Their Movements?
The conversation then turned to whether or not Trump and Mamdani are the figureheads of the left and right in America, and Olson responded that he believes they are.
“Obviously, President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. He's the leader of the conservative movement, even though he's not traditionally been the most conservative of politicians. Now for Zohran Mamdani, it's interesting, he's not even in office yet, however, in new Harvard-Harris polling that came out in November, 50% of Americans believe that he represents the Democrat party today, with 65% of Democrats saying the same thing.”
A Political Backdrop: The Rise of Democratic Socialism
All of this happened against a striking backdrop today: the U.S. House voted 285–98 to denounce socialism, with a majority of voting Democrats taking the side of Socialism. As of this month, 250+ Democratic Socialists now hold office nationwide, with 90% elected since 2019—an intentional inside strategy that began with AOC and is accelerating with Mamdani.
📊 For more insights, visit: PollingClub.com