Cameron Fozi and Myles Miller
US President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani capped a face-to-face meeting with a surprise joint appearance before reporters in which both played up what has become one of the more unlikely relationships in US politics.
Trump’s party has sought to link swing-state candidates in November’s midterm elections to Mamdani’s progressive platform. Yet Trump has repeatedly stepped on that messaging by openly praising Mamdani, as he did again on Monday.
“I certainly hope he will be a great mayor,” Trump said in a largely frictionless joint appearance with Mamdani on the lawn of Gracie Mansion. “You have to understand, I want what’s good for New York, I want what’s good for the country. So if I had a choice of having him be a bad mayor, horrible mayor, I don’t want that.
“I want him to be a great mayor,” Trump said. “And he’s certainly got potential, got great potential.”
Monday’s meeting at the mayor’s Upper East Side residence was highly anticipated for the political pairing who in the past have indicated a willingness to work together even as they trade barbs in public. And there were moments ripe for strife.
Mamdani in their conversation brought up Haitian immigrants whose temporary protected status Trump has ended, risking their immediate deportation. And the mayor during the press conference emphasised the importance of engaging with the press, days after Trump banned CNN, MS Now (formerly MSNBC) and Politico from the White House.
Yet both the president and the mayor took care to contain those breaks, with each side highlighting places where they could work together.
Mamdani said the conversation was “productive” and ranged across issues from immigration to federal support for housing development.
“President Trump and I met at Gracie Mansion to discuss the city we both are so fortunate to serve, New York City,” Mamdani said. “Each time the president and I speak, it is about the same topics: how to improve the lives of New Yorkers and how to use the power of government to take on the cost-of-living crisis, to grow our economy and to build a better, stronger New York.”
Monday’s meeting was the latest example of how, even though they represent opposite ends of the political spectrum, Trump and Mamdani have found ways to identify common ground.
While Trump now lives in Florida, and Mamdani was born in Uganda, they are both New Yorkers. More than that, they’re Queens men. Trump was born at Jamaica Hospital and raised in the borough, while Mamdani emerged as a political force in and around the immigrant-rich neighbourhoods of Astoria.
Mamdani has become one of the most prominent faces of a new wave of self-described democratic socialists who have won key primary races in a push to reshape the Democratic Party. Trump has targeted those candidates in a bid to rally Republican voters ahead of November’s midterm elections, casting his political rivals as too extreme to represent swing states such as Michigan.
Yet while Trump assailed Mamdani as a “communist” during his mayoral race, urging voters to reject his candidacy and threatening to withhold federal funding from New York, the two struck a surprisingly friendly tone when they met in person at the White House shortly after that election. At a subsequent meeting in February, they discussed ways to expand residential development in the nation’s most populous city.
And while Monday’s meeting went smoothly, their overall relationship doesn’t always go that way.
In April, Trump accused the mayor of “DESTROYING New York” with his proposal to increase taxes on wealthy residents. Hours later, though, he described the mayor as “a nice guy” who calls him frequently.
In July, Trump also rebuffed Mamdani for suggesting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court, could be arrested when he comes to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. Mamdani later conceded that New York did not have the independent legal authority to enforce the ICC warrant.
The mayor has also strengthened protections for migrants as the Trump administration ramps up its deportation campaign. The city of New York and New York Attorney General Letitia James are also among the groups suing the Trump administration over a new “public charge” rule that gives immigration officers broader discretion to deny green cards or visas based on immigrants’ use of public benefits.
‘Deliver for New Yorkers’
Mamdani explained his invitation for Trump to join him at Gracie Mansion, saying he would “meet with anyone, work with anyone that could deliver for New Yorkers”.
Mamdani, during their meeting, brought up the status of Haitian immigrants. The mayor’s inquiry followed the Trump administration ending Temporary Protected Status for Haitians living in the US, leaving them vulnerable to deportation. “We are talking about one of the most critical communities in our city,” Mamdani said. “We’re talking about something that can either deliver or deny stability in their lives.”
Trump acknowledged that the mayor had raised the issue but made no commitment. “I feel strongly about taking care of people,” he said.
The two also said that they discussed a plan to build thousands of homes over Queens’ Sunnyside Yard, which the president said would require federal funding and approvals.
“You’re going to need a lot of federal approvals and probably some federal money to do it,” Trump told reporters. He said that the project should include “a pretty substantial component” of housing for low- and moderate-income residents.
Mamdani said the two agreed to begin technical discussions between City Hall and the White House on financing and federal authorisation for a platform over the rail yard. The city’s proposal calls for about 12,000 homes and 30,000 jobs. Mamdani has previously said the project would require more than $US21 billion ($29.5 billion) in federal grants.
The Gracie Mansion meeting location resonated with the president. “It’s a special place, a very special, a beautiful place, when you go inside, and I’ve seen it with numerous different mayors – and I’ve said – some great ones and some not so great ones,” Trump told reporters, before turning to Mamdani.
“So hopefully you’re going to be a great one – I’ll be able to say you’re going to be a great one – and you are off to a start,” Trump said to the mayor, giving him a pat on the back.
Bloomberg
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