Trump's friendly meeting with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani drew furious attacks from pro-Israel and MAGA media figures, a bad sign for Republican unity heading into the midterms.

• Trump praised Mamdani as having "great potential" after a joint press conference, months after calling him a communist.
• Right-wing commentators including Sid Rosenberg, Mark Levin, and Laura Loomer erupted, branding Mamdani a jihadist and Marxist without evidence.
• Some Republicans, including voices at Fox News, defended the meeting as normal deal-making between a president and his hometown mayor.
• The joint presser was not planned: Mamdani invited Trump on the spot and called on three outlets banned from the White House, flattering Trump into staying longer.
• The anger sits on top of deeper grievances about US money and lives spent on wars in the Middle East.

Outlook: Expect the attacks on Mamdani to intensify as the midterms approach, with Trump's own base split over whether working with him is pragmatism or betrayal.