Trump's warm meeting with New York's new mayor has blown up the Republican plan to make Mamdani the face of the midterms — bad news for GOP strategists, good news for Mamdani.

• Trump visited Gracie Mansion, called Mamdani a mayor with "great potential," and invited him to the White House.
• Republicans had spent months building Mamdani into their midterm villain on socialism; Trump just undercut that message himself.
• GOP strategists are also uneasy about the timing, with Trump hosting a state dinner for China's Xi in the same stretch.
• Mamdani used the joint press event to call on the three outlets Trump banned from the White House.
• Separately, DoorDash agreed to a $131.5 million settlement with New York City over underpaying delivery workers — the same company that poured money into beating Mamdani at the ballot box.

Outlook: Expect Republicans to keep running against "Mamdani-ism" in red and swing states while Trump freelances in the opposite direction.