US House condemns socialism ahead of Trump-Mamdani meeting
Members-elect of the 118th Congress leave the House Chamber after three ballots failed to elect a new Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, DC, U.S., Jan. 3, 2023. (AFP File Photo)


The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday approved a resolution condemning socialism as New York’s self-described leftist, socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani prepares to meet with President Donald Trump.

The lower chamber voted 285-98, with 86 Democrats joining Republicans in support of the measure introduced by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar.

The voting came ahead of Trump's closed-door meeting with Mamdani, at the White House.

"Congress denounces socialism in all its forms, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States," the resolution said.

Mamdani, 34, became the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of the nation’s largest city after defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in the mayoral election earlier this month, running on a progressive platform centered on affordability and expanded social services.

Throughout the campaign, Trump attacked the democratic socialist as a "communist” and threatened to cut federal funding to New York if Mamdani won.

Trump's meeting with Mamdani marks the coming together of two men raised in the Queens borough of New York, but their similarities may end there.

While Trump frequently touts the record-breaking gains on Wall Street during his presidency, Mamdani's view on the economy extends beyond the bullish financial markets in downtown Manhattan to an affordability crisis facing a city of over 8 million people.

As the first mayoral candidate to surpass the 1-million-vote mark in New York since 1969, Mamdani campaigned on pledges of affordable housing and childcare, as well as free rides on city buses and city-run grocery stores.

Experts have questioned Mamdani's ability to deliver on his idealistic and broad-reaching platform.