Seattle elects democratic socialist Katie Wilson as mayor
Talk show host Jason Rantz joins 'Fox News Live' to discuss Seattle's democratic socialist mayor-elect Katie Wilson and the greater Democratic divide following the government reopening.
Socialist Seattle mayor-elect Katie Wilson is prepared to meet with President Donald Trump, should he decide to invite her to the White House.
"I’ll meet with anyone," she said, per a Seattle Times report from Tuesday. "I mean, he’s the president of the United States."
Wilson, who defeated Democratic Mayor Bruce Harrell in a tight race earlier this month, espouses views similar to New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's, including heftier taxes on the wealthy, government-backed grocery stores and an interest in universal child care. While Mamdani's race received far more national attention, Wilson's ascension in Washington's largest city has significant implications.
Mamdani perhaps laid the groundwork for a Trump-Wilson meeting when he met with the president at the White House last week to discuss affordability, public safety and other issues concerning New Yorkers.
MAMDANI-STYLE CANDIDATE LIVING OFF PARENTS' MONEY COULD OUSTER INCUMBENT DEM MAYOR
Seattle mayor-elect Katie Wilson delivers a victory speech during a news conference at the Seattle Labor Temple Thursday, Nov. 13, in Seattle. (left); President Donald Trump meets with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office of the White House on Nov. 21 in Washington, D.C. (right) (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson (left); Andrew Harnik/Getty Images (right))
Given Mamdani and Trump had traded sharp rhetoric toward each other like "fascist" and "communist," their cordial meeting drew considerable attention and also scrutiny from their respective ideological allies.
Wilson, however, pushed back against the idea that such meetings constitute "selling out."
Rather, she says, they will be important to her success as Seattle's next mayor.
SEATTLE'S SOCIALIST MAYOR MAY BE 'LESS CONSTRAINED' THAN MAMDANI, WASHINGTON POST WARNS
President Donald Trump and Mayor-Elect of New York City Zohran Mamdani during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on Friday, Nov. 21. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
"I think that a lot of people on the progressive left do have a sophisticated understanding of what it’s going to take to deliver on a bold progressive agenda, and that it’s not just about only talking to your friends and using the mayor’s office as a soapbox," she said, according to The Seattle Times.
The outlet noted that Wilson has remained relatively quiet in some regards, however, pointing to her "necessary meetings" with people like Gov. Bob Ferguson, D-Wash., and her tendency to turn down national media requests.
At the same time, she did not respond when Trump formerly labeled her a "communist."
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Wilson pledged during her campaign to "Trump-proof" Seattle and represents a resurgence of socialism, as she and Mamdani — along with national democratic socialist figures like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. — try to push Democrats leftward.
Both Wilson and Mamdani put affordability at the forefront of their campaigns, an issue that drove people to the polls in the 2024 presidential election as well.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller and Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
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