“After Trump–Mamdani Meeting, Tharoor Says: ‘A Vision of Democracy I’d Love in India’”

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday praised the meeting between US President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, calling it a reminder of how political rivals should behave in a healthy democracy.

Sharing the Oval Office photos on X, Tharoor wrote that elections should be fought fiercely, “with no rhetorical holds barred,” but once the mandate is clear, leaders must “learn to cooperate… in the common interests of the nation.” He added that he would “love to see more of this in India.”

Tharoor’s comments come amid the Congress’ increasingly combative posture against the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His recent praise for the PM’s Ramnath Goenka Lecture had already triggered disapproval from some party colleagues, including Sandeep Dikshit and Supriya Shrinate.

The Trump–Mamdani meeting followed weeks of bitter exchanges online, with Trump calling Mamdani a “lunatic” and “communist,” and Mamdani labelling the President a “fascist.” Yet the two held what they described as a “productive” discussion after Mamdani requested a meeting.

Trump congratulated Mamdani for running an “incredible race,” saying they spoke about housing, food prices and falling oil costs. Mamdani said the talks were grounded in their “shared admiration” for New York City. When a reporter asked Mamdani about his past remark calling Trump a fascist, Trump cut in jokingly: “That’s OK, you can just say yes… I don’t mind,” prompting laughter in the Oval Office.

Tharoor highlighted this shift from hostility to cooperation as the kind of democratic civility he hopes to see more often in India.