New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is sitting down with President Trump at the White House Friday afternoon. 

Political analyst and professor at Mt. Saint Vincent University J.C. Polanco spoke with CBS News New York about what's at stake in the meeting. 

"This is a wonderful opportunity for Mayor-elect Mamdani"

"This is a very consequential meeting, right? We've been waiting for this opportunity. New York City took a big leap of faith with Mayor-elect Mamdani. He's an assemblymember, representing about 125,000 people. Now he's about to assume the important role of CEO of New York City government, and to be our chief negotiator in the federal government. So we want to see him in action," Polanco said. "This is a wonderful opportunity for Mayor-elect Mamdani to show the world that he's ready to sit down with the president and represent our interests." 

Polanco said that New York City depends on the federal government for about $10 billion in federal funds. Polanco said Mamdani needs to keep that firmly in mind, especially since the two have previously taken an adversarial tone. 

"We have a president who has made it very clear - look, I don't like Mayor-elect Mamdani. He's made it clear. He's said look, he's a communist, and Mayor-elect Mamdani has given these guys a lot of fodder with some of the videos that he's made in the past," Polanco said. 

The opportunity for the president

"President Trump could use this meeting to deflect from some negative press, some negative numbers, and try to make Mayor-elect Mamdani look like [Ukraine's President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy did in February. Or this could be a real meeting, an opportunity to discuss safety, affordability, how the city and the federal government can work together. Because there's lives depending on this meeting today," Polanco said. 

So will the two be able to put their differences aside and get along?

"It depends which Mayor-elect Mamdani and which President Trump show up. If it's the President Trump of February, where he treated President Zelenskyy in that manner, I think it's going to be just a complete disaster today. But if it's the President Trump that wants to work, that wants to see who this new guy is, we may have a good meeting," Polanco said. "It's important for Mayor-elect Mamdani to stay agile, because he doesn't know who's coming. And is it the Mayor-elect Mamdani from the campaign, that happy warrior that was smiling and wanted to work together with everyone? Or is it going to be the Mayor-elect Mamdani of election night, where he told President Trump 'turn the volume up,' I ain't playing with you."

Polanco said that Mamdani better understand that Mr. Trump is the one holding the cards in the meeting. 

"We depend on $10 billion for the police, for housing, for our homeless, for social services. Those $10 billion matter, so we need Mayor-elect Mamdani to stay agile on his feet, and to represent us well today," Polanco said. 

"He needs respect"

Polanco said Mamdani "needs respect" when he enters that meeting. He needs to be prepared to field questions as to whether or not he's a Marxist or communist. 

"The problem is that Mayor-elect Mamdani has videos where he talks about seizing the means of production, talking about legalizing prostitution, defunding the police. These are things that that Oval Office is going to be ready to attack him on," Polanco said. "So it is critical for Mayor-elect Mamdani to recognize that that is going to come, and to strike a tone of respect, and that he's moderated on a lot of these positions, and that he's really willing to work with the White House." 

Polanco said many of Mamdani's key campaign promises "depend heavily on federal funding. So make sure you go in there and make your case as to why you're not a Marxist, why there's nothing to fear about changing the fundamental systems of New York City, and that you just happen to be a progressive who got elected and you're willing to work with the president of the United States."