Zohran Mamdani and Barack Obama shared smiles with children during a visit to a daycare center, but Mamdani’s past tweets suggest he did not fully support Obama. Mamdani and Obama met at a daycare center in the Bronx, New York. The two read books and sang “Wheels on the Bus” with various children.
The internet was all smiles to see the Mamdani-Obama pairing. The newly elected mayor of New York has quickly become one of the most beloved government officials, while Barack Obama remains one of America’s most admired former presidents. That said, Brian Kilmeade and Marc Thiessen shared their thoughts on the matter during Fox News’ Fox & Friends segment. “Are you surprised how much President Obama is getting involved with the proud Democratic Socialist mayor?” Kilmeade said.
A video is going viral of President Obama and Mayor Mamdani singing wheels on the bus with kids in a NYC school.
There is literally not one person alive in the entire Republican Party who measures up to either of these two people. pic.twitter.com/3Z5n2mM5F9
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) April 18, 2026
Thiessen then argued that socialism is embraced by Democrats, but the Democratic Party doesn’t wish to pursue it. “Well, first of all, if the Democrats keep embracing socialism, the wheels are going to come off the bus,” Thiessen stated. “Because that’s not the direction the Democratic Party wants to go.”
Thiessen stated that he wasn’t surprised that Obama and Mamdani were spotted together and even dubbed Obama the “proto-Mamdani.” Kilmeade then talked about Mamdani’s tweets against Obama. The first tweet began, “Hasn’t Obama shown that lesser evil is still pretty damn evil?” A second one read, “I can’t trust quotes from Barack Obama, not since he continued lying in the face of the Snowden NSA revelations.”
These were all tweets made by Zohran Mamdani before he ran for mayor, and they were highly critical of Obama. “Obama and de Blasio, don’t you just got to love what passes who are progressive in the U.S.,” a third tweet read. Thiessen then argued that “Mamdani is not the path out of the wilderness for the Democrats.” He further stated, “This is a guy who thinks Obama is too much of a right-winger for the Democratic Party. If anything, it’s Mamdani who’s sort of compromising by meeting with Obama.”
Zohran Mamdani’s message to Donald Trump after his historic NYC mayoral win:
“New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and as of tonight, led by an immigrant. So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: to get to any of us,… pic.twitter.com/Ww8qphYjhd
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 5, 2025
Despite criticism from some Republicans, Donald Trump has at times appeared with a smile alongside Mamdani. While the president continues to criticize Mamdani on social media, his stance on the New York mayor is quite different in real life. “Some of his ideas are the same ideas I have,” Trump revealed to the press in a November 2025 meeting, as Mamdani hilariously chimed in and said, “one in 10”.
According to Al Jazeera, Trump revealed, “He said some very interesting things. He wants to see houses go up, a lot of apartments built. People would be shocked, but I want to see the same thing. I want to be helping him, not hurting him. A big help”. That said, recently, Trump slammed Mamdani for “destroying New York,” claiming that the “United States of America should not contribute to its failure.”
Mamdani, on the other hand, offered a more pluralistic view, stating, “Donald Trump is not just the president of this country,” Mamdani said. “He’s also someone who’s been a New Yorker for his entire life, and there is an investment in this city doing well. New York City holds a very special place for him, as well as for me. We’re both from this same city.
