Some top Democrats have routinely exchanged trash-talk with President Donald Trump publicly — only to seemingly soften their tone during private, face-to-face encounters.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani are figures who have shared critical, fiery rhetoric with the president online, but seem to change the tone when Trump gives them a ring or meets with them in person.
“There’s a difference between you acting tough when the camera’s on and then the guy calls you — you’re like, ‘Wait a minute, it’s him,’” Valuetainment founder Patrick Bet-David said on “Jesse Watters Primetime.”
Trump echoed that sentiment while discussing a recent phone call with Walz.
“It’s hard to believe that’s the same guy I watch on television… because we had a very reasonable conversation, very good conversation,” Trump said on “The Will Cain Show.”
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Walz, the former Democratic vice-presidential nominee, has knocked Trump a number of times.
Walz said Trump shows “fascist tendencies,” and Trump labeled him as “grossly incompetent.”
Tensions have flared since Trump brought an immigration crackdown operation and widespread fraud investigation to Minnesota.
Walz said Trump “wants” violence, accused him of “demonizing” Somalis in Minnesota and called his actions disgusting and dangerous in a post to X, formerly Twitter.
Trump fired back, labeling Walz as “Minnesota’s Corrupt Governor” in a Truth Social post.
Their rhetoric seemingly softened Monday after the two spoke by phone to discuss unrest in Minnesota.
Trump told Fox News the call with Walz “couldn’t have been a nicer conversation.”
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Walz also acknowledged the shift in tone, telling MPR News about the unexpectedly cordial discussion.
“Whether it was morality or bad optics and poll numbers — whatever has happened here, there’s a definite change of tone. There’s definitely a more collaborative tone. I’m going to take them for their word right now,” he said.
CALIFORNIA GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM
Newsom and Trump have also sparred, forming one of the nation’s most visible and combative political rivalries.
Newsom has consistently likened Trump to a “dictator” and a “king of fraud,” previously accusing the president of inciting a civil war.
Most recently, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the California governor shared harsh comments for the commander-in-chief.
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“He’s a T-rex,” he said. “You mate with him, or he devours you — one or the other.”
Trump has shared his own sharp rhetoric with Newsom, referring to him as “Gavin Newscum” and regularly asserting that his “incompetent” leadership destroyed California.
Despite years of public hostility, the longtime rivals shared an apparently different dynamic during an in-person encounter in January 2025.
The moment came on a Los Angeles tarmac, when Trump arrived to tour wildfire damage.
“I appreciate the governor coming out and meeting me,” Trump said.
“Thank you for being here, it means a great deal to all of us,” Newsom said.
In the cordial moment, Trump and Newsom exchanged a roughly 10-second handshake and partial hug, with the two even patting each other on the back.
“You were there for us during COVID — I don’t forget that, and I have all the expectations that we’ll be able to work together to get this speedy recovery,” Newsom continued.
“We’ll get it worked out, OK?” Trump said.
“I appreciate it, Mr. President,” Newsom replied.
The exchange concluded with both leaders agreeing on the need for a “speedy recovery” for fire-ravaged Los Angeles.
NYC MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI
Mamdani has also emerged as a Trump critic, frequently trading insults with the commander-in-chief.
Mamdani labeled Trump a “despot” during his victory speech after winning the mayoral seat on Nov. 4, 2025, and Trump characterized him as a “100% Communist Lunatic.”
“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him,” Mamdani said. “And if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power.”
“This is not only how we stop Trump — it’s how we stop the next one,” Mamdani said. “So, Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up.”
“I thought it was a very angry speech, certainly angry toward me,” Trump said of the speech. “I think he should be very nice to me — I’m the one that sort of has to approve a lot of things coming to him. So, he’s off to a bad start.”
But when the two met in the Oval Office on Nov. 21, 2025, their relationship took a conciliatory turn, defying expectations.
Mamdani said it was a diplomatic, productive meeting centered on a “shared admiration and love” for New York City.
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Trump, who previously cast Mamdani as a “total nut job” and “communist lunatic,” called him a “very rational person” at the meeting.
The president and New York native said he would “absolutely” feel safe living in an NYC run by Mamdani, a different opinion than Trump previously publicized.
“He’s working very hard, and for him to be — that’s a very long drive, I’ll stick up for you,” Trump said.
The two appeared to be chummy, laughing with each other several times while taking questions from reporters.
“We agree on a lot more than I would’ve thought,” Trump said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mayor Mamdani for his thoughts on the apparent change in his dynamic with Trump. His office provided a quote from an interview he gave to NBC News days after their face-to-face meeting:
“I was looking forward to having the meeting with the president to speak about the needs of the eight and a half million people who call the same city we love home, and to speak frankly about the affordability crisis that is pushing so many of them out of those five boroughs. And I found in the meeting that I had with the president, a productive one and a meeting that came back again and again to the central themes of the campaign that we ran, the cost of housing, cost of child care, the cost of groceries, the cost of utilities. And it showed that this is an opportunity to now start to deliver so that people can do more than just aspire to struggle in New York City, but actually to be able to live there.”
Admirers of Trump believe his ability to have civil dialogue with foes can only help bridge the divide in politics.
“Part of me likes the fact that somebody who was extremely on the opposing side and our president are talking to each other,” Bet-David said. “I think this is very good for America.”
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