Congress MP Shashi Tharoor hopes the Indian politicians will take the cue from US President Donald Trump and New York city’s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on political civility.
Trump, a NewYorker, who had made derisive comments against Mamdani, during the mayoral elections, met Mamdani at the White House on Friday.
"This is how democracy should work. Fight passionately for your point of view in elections, with no rhetorical holds barred. But once it’s over, & the people have spoken, learn to cooperate with each other in the common interests of the nation you are both pledged to serve. I would love to see more of this in India — and am trying to do my part," Tharoor wrote on his X (formerly known as Twitter) handle on Saturday.
Tharoor himself has come under fire from a section in his own party the Congress and India’s liberal elites for his occasional praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and more recently for his lavish words on the BJP stalwart LK Advani, who had his birthday earlier this month.
Tharoor’s comments came after Trump and Mamdani — who had fiercely criticised each other during the mayoral race — held what both sides described as a cordial and constructive meeting at the White House on Friday.
The surprising show of bonhomie emerged after Trump revealed on Truth Social that he would meet Mamdani at the Oval Office on November 21. Despite having previously labelled the Democrat as a “lunatic”, “communist”, and “despot”, Trump praised his visitor generously during the press interaction.
While Trump grew up in the affluent neighbourhood of Jamaica Estates, in Queens, New York City, Mamdani had served as the New York State Assembly member representing the Queens neighbourhood. That is the one common ground between the two rivals.
The New York Times reported on Saturday, “But if there is one thing Trump respects, it’s a winner. He made it clear Friday that he was impressed Mamdani had triumphed as an underdog against the political establishment.”
“He really ran an incredible race against, you know, a lot of smart people, starting with the early primaries against some very tough people, very smart people. And he beat them and he beat them easily. And I congratulated him and we talked about some things in common, like housing and getting housing built, and food, prices and the price of oil is coming way down,” Trump said, calling the session “productive”.
Mamdani echoed the sentiment, saying the discussion centred on shared priorities.
“The meeting with the President and as he said, it was a productive meeting focused on a place of shared admiration and love, which is New York City, and the need to deliver affordability to New Yorkers,” he said.
A light moment ensued when a reporter asked Mamdani whether he still believed Trump was a “fascist”. Before Mamdani could respond, Trump interjected: “That’s OK, you can just say yes, OK? It’s easier. It’s easier than explaining it — I don’t mind."
The exchange drew laughter in the Oval Office.
Responding to a clip of the meeting, Tharoor reiterated that such conduct — hard-fought elections followed by cooperation for the public good — should be the norm.
Tharoor’s past remarks that stirred debate within Congress
Tharoor’s praise for the Trump–Mamdani dynamic comes soon after he drew criticism from within his own party for commending Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Ramnath Goenka Lecture. In a recent post, Tharoor said Modi’s speech was both an economic outline and a “cultural call to action”, adding that he was “glad” to attend despite “battling a bad cold and cough”. His remarks prompted Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit to label him a “hypocrite”, while Supriya Shrinate said she found nothing “praiseworthy” in the address.