By Jack Salaki
Opinions Editor
President Trump flew to New York City, where he met with Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Gracie Mansion on Sept. 21.
The pair who have met twice before, once last November and then in February, have had a surprisingly amiable relationship. At their first meeting last year, Trump said, “I’ll be cheering for him,” when referring to Mamdani becoming mayor at the start of 2026, according to BBC.
Their most recent meeting focused on a major plan to transform Sunnyside Yard in Queens into a new neighborhood with over 12,000 affordable homes while creating 30,000 new jobs, according to ABC News.
Mamdani commented on the project, saying, “We’ve agreed to set up a new level of that conversation between our housing and operations team at City Hall and the White House team.”
“I appreciate the President and his interest in this, and we know the President not just as the leader of the country, but also as someone who has built quite a lot of housing here in our city,” which he stated in the press conference.
Trump seemed to support Mamdani’s project, which would require a significant influx of federal funds. The President said the project will be “a very federal-oriented job.” Trump said he previously owned real estate in the area, saying, “It was a great building. I know it very well.” He concluded by saying that “maybe they have a shot at doing it.”
Trump also reminisced about past memories at Gracie Mansion, posting on Truth Social before he arrived, “It’s one of my favorite places in the world,” according to the New York Post. Trump also conversed with Mamdani about his initial reservations about living in Gracie Mansion, and Trump encouraged him to live there.
The conversation shifted to Trump’s recent ban on news organizations in the White House press room, including CNN, Politico and MS Now. The move has drawn strong condemnation from both historians and those across the political spectrum, with Fox News and other major networks committing to not cover White House events until other news organizations are allowed back into the White House, according to Variety.
Mamdani pushed back on the President’s ban during the press conference saying, “I told the President that we're going to have all of the members of the press here on the lawn, and that is something that I believe in, is everyone, no matter the opinion or the critique, that we engage.”
Meanwhile, Trump doubled down on his ban of those newspapers, saying that the press has an obligation to report the truth. He told reporters that he has settled eight wars and that the economy is the greatest in the history of the country, which is why he is upset with news coverage.
“If you look at CNN, it's fake news. If you look at MS Now–I don't even know what MS Now is, I guess it's the MSNBC, what it used to be–or MSDNC, as some people call it, that's the Democrat National Committee. But it's just biased news,” Trump said during the press conference.
He said, “if they’re fake news, I think I really have an obligation not to allow them into another really special house.” Trump motioned to Mamdani, saying that The White House is the most special house in the country, more so than Gracie Mansion.
Among other issues, Mamdani told the press that he discussed immigration with Trump, which has been a major contention between the two.
Trump finished the meeting by talking about Mamdani, saying that he has great potential as mayor. The two shook hands as the meeting ended.
The reason behind their friendly relationship remains unclear. Trump identifies as a right-wing populist, while Mamdani is among the more left-wing members of the current Democratic Party. But whatever the reason, their working relationship appears to be far from over.
