Jimmy Kimmel fawns all over Mamdani, begs him to 'come to L.A. and be our mayor'

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Jimmy Kimmel.

ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel welcomed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday night's show, to kick off a week of shows in the Big Apple for longtime TV personality who's reportedly in his final year at ABC.

Not surprisingly, Mamdani's visit to the show was nothing but a love-fest, with Kimmel mostly fawning over Mamdani, asking the mayor to text Trump a selfie of the two of them and, of course devoting a portion of the segment to Trump-bashing, which is has been a hallmark of Kimmel's show for much of the last decade.

Mamdani demurred when asked to send the selfie of the two of them, replying, "Jimmy, I love you, but I love housing more." Mamdani was referring to the proposed Sunnyside Yard real estate project in Queens that is estimated to bring as many as 12,000 new homes to the borough of Queens and would likely need federal funding. “From time to time we’re in communication," Mamdani said about exchanging text messages with President Trump, "and it’s about Sunnyside Yard, and it’s about how we can deliver for the city.”

Kimmel, who typically reserves all of his political criticism for Donald Trump, perhaps in an unguarded moment or some sort of slip-up, suggested he's not a fan of incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass or her challenger, socialist Nithya Rahman. The two are locked in a close race heading into the November midterm election. 

"I live in Los Angeles and that is not the reception our mayor would get," Kimmel said when he introduced Mamdani and welcomed him to the show. Near the end of the interview, Kimmel implied he dislikes both of his choices for mayor, asking Mamdani, "Would you come to L.A. and be our mayor? We've got a lot of potholes." Mamdani demurred again, saying, "It’s three words for me always: New York City."

Watch a highlight from the interview below.