Trump’s powerful new friends are making MAGA uncomfortable

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The Hill's Headlines | PM - October 1, 2026

The Hill's Headlines | PM - October 1, 2026

President Trump’s appearances with Chinese President Xi Jinping, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) and leaders from Silicon Valley risk turning off his political base just as Republicans are seeking to turbocharge turnout ahead of the midterms, say GOP strategists. 

The president has always loved meeting with the powerful, even if they are dictators or democratic socialists, as it makes headlines and highlights his own stature.

Trump was the first president to meet with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, and he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last year. He had a memorable buddy-buddy term in the Oval Office with Mamdani last November, even as his party sought to vilify the liberal mayor.

To many Republicans, the latest meetings are a danger.

“Frankly, it’s inexplicable,” one unnamed Republican strategist said. “Not because as president you shouldn’t meet with the Chinese president or event the mayor of New York, but given their toxicity with the base that you were desperate to try to turnout at higher than normal levels to try and offset your vulnerabilities with every other layer of the November turnout populace.” 

“You need to fire up your base and instead you’re kind of deflating them in the homestretch,” the strategist added. 

Trump hosted his Chinese counterpart last week for a lavish state visit at the White House. That meeting came after Mamdani hosted Trump at Gracie Mansion in New York City. 

On Tuesday, Trump invited several tech leaders to the White House for a luncheon on artificial intelligence before........

© The Hill