They talked real estate, debated complicated zoning code, and mulled over how to get a utility giant to bring down electricity rates.
Then, they talked about what it takes to build housing in America’s largest city and how the health of the five boroughs hinges on the streets being safe.
Those were some of the topics New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump covered during a nearly hourlong meeting at the White House last week.
Mamdani, who arrived in Washington, DC, for sit-down Friday, made his way through the West Wing of the White House alongside three top aides, senior adviser Morris Katz, press secretary Dora Pekec and his chief of staff, Elle Bisgaard-Church, according to a person familiar with the meeting.
When it was finally time to enter the Oval, only Bisgaard-Church was invited. Inside was Trump and his own chief of staff, Susie Wiles.
“Our conversation focused on New York City, and I think that is a point of shared focus,” Mamdani told CNN on Sunday. “A point of shared admiration for the city that we both call home, and a city that is in danger of becoming a museum where working people once were.”
The meeting then turned into a tour, with Trump taking Mamdani into the Cabinet Room, which overlooks a now paved-over Rose Garden. The room is also home to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidential portrait. Mamdani and Trump posed in front of the painting; Trump flashed a smile and posed with his signature thumbs-up. Mamdani clasped his hands and offered a faint smile yielding a new image — three men from New York who have shaken politics in their own ways.
“It was a Great Honor meeting Zohran Mamdani, the new Mayor of New York City!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday, sharing photos of the two after the meeting.
When the doors opened to allow cameras into the room, Trump heaped praise on Mamdani, suggesting he and the man he often falsely referred to as a “communist” actually had quite a bit in common.
“Some of his ideas really are the same ideas that I have,” Trump said while sitting at his desk as Mamdani stood beside him. “We agree on a lot more than I would’ve thought.”
It was a surprisingly positive ending to a high-stakes meeting between two diametrically opposed politicians who have spent several months trading barbs.
“I can only take one meeting at a time, one conversation at a time,” Mamdani told CNN on Sunday. “All I hoped to do in that conversation was to establish a working relationship and to have a productive meeting that focused on the work itself, focused on the people that many of the two of us know, and people across these five boroughs that we never met.”
Immigration was a key topic
Mamdani told CNN he spoke to Trump about immigration during their meeting — with the looming question of whether the president will ramp up his immigration crackdown in New York, like he has in some other blue cities.
But even without that, the presence of federal officers and enforcement action is being felt across the city’s immigrant communities.
Advocates have reported an uptick in apprehensions and targeted operations. In response, immigrant rights organizations have started to organize, distributing “know your rights” pamphlets and training citizen patrols to spot Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity and alert people who may be at risk.
While Mamdani would not say whether Trump agreed to not increase immigration enforcement in the city, he said he told the president New York City law enforcement is willing to collaborate with the federal government as long as it stays within the existing parameters. New York’s “sanctuary city” rules say local law enforcement are only required to collaborate with federal agencies on immigration enforcement only when people convicted of violent or serious crimes are involved.
“The concern comes from beyond those crimes,” Mamdani said. “The many New Yorkers who are being arrested, they’re being detained, they’re being deported for the crime of showing up to a regular court appearance at 26 Federal Plaza for the crime of simply being present in New York City.”
Trump has previously said he did not believe immigration action had gone far enough when he was asked about officers violently detaining people inside courtrooms and on city streets. On Saturday, the president appeared to back down from his previous threats to send federal reinforcements into New York City, telling reporters he would do so only if the city needs it.
Mamdani would not tell CNN on Sunday whether the president agreed with him on how to handle immigration enforcement in the city.
“I’ll let the president speak for himself, but I did make very clear that our focus comes back to public safety,” Mamdani said. “Knowing that there may be disagreements between the president and myself, and there will continue to be, and I will always make the case for each and every person that calls this city home.”
Mamdani says he still believes Trump is a fascist
Mamdani spent the weekend in the capital after his meeting. On Friday evening, Mamdani, a fierce critic of the Israeli government, stopped at a Palestinian restaurant in Virginia for dinner.
Back in New York City on Sunday, Mamdani spoke to the congregation at Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church in the Bronx.
“My responsibility is to work,” Mamdani told the crowd. “And to do that work means to work with anyone, means to work with those who were opposed to my candidacy, work with those who belong to a different party, work with those with whom I hold deep disagreements.”
The comments came after Mamdani earlier in the day doubled down on his attacks against Trump, despite the friendly meeting.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the mayor-elect was asked to clarify whether he believes Trump is fascist. During the Friday meeting, Trump cut him off, jokingly telling Mamdani it was “OK” to call him one when he was asked the same question by a reporter.
“Everything I’ve said in the past I continue to believe,” Mamdani responded on Sunday. “I said yes, and that’s something that I’ve said in the past. I say it today.”
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