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Trump Hopes Mamdani Will Be 'Great Mayor' Despite Political Differences
Confirmed
In Short: President Donald Trump expressed hope that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani would be a 'great mayor,' despite their political differences, during a meeting at Gracie Mansion on Monday.
Standing alongside Mamdani in the garden of Gracie Mansion, Trump noted that he had hosted many events there, both successful and otherwise. He recalled encouraging Mamdani to move into the mansion after his election, acknowledging that Mamdani had some hesitation due to the mansion's size.
Mamdani said the two had a productive conversation, touching on topics such as Sunnyside Yards, a proposal to deck over the Queens rail yard for 12,000 homes and 30,000 jobs, and Temporary Protected Status for Haitian New Yorkers.
Despite their public disagreements, Mamdani and Trump maintained an open line of communication. Mamdani noted that their discussions often centered on improving the lives of New Yorkers and using the power of government to address the cost of living crisis.
The meeting took place as Trump was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. It marked their third in-person meeting since Mamdani was elected mayor last year.
Mamdani’s chief of staff, Elle Bisgaard-Church, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles also attended the talks.
While Trump and Mamdani have deep disagreements over immigration and other policies, they have forged an unexpectedly warm working relationship, with Mamdani saying he and Trump held a 'wide-ranging' discussion that touched on affordable housing and immigration.
Mamdani left the assessment of Trump's comments to his constituents, noting that the two had maintained an 'ongoing conversation' on immigration despite 'deep disagreements' over ICE raids, temporary protected status, and the administration's new public-charge rule.
What this adds
The meeting at Gracie Mansion is the first time a sitting president has visited the mayor's residence in decades.
The relationship between Trump and Mamdani has been striking given their political differences, with Mamdani making opposition to the president and his policies a central part of his political identity.
What's confirmed
- “I certainly hope he will be a great mayor. You have to understand, I want what’s good for New York. I want what’s good for the country,” he said.
What's still developing
- Trump also recalled encouraging Mamdani to move into the mansion after his election, saying Mamdani had hesitated over its size: “Well, I can say, from my standpoint, I love New York, and this represents New York. This is where the mayor lived, and continues to live. And we were discussing it a long time ago when you first got elected. I said, ‘Well, you’re going to move,’ because you were maybe having some doubts about moving in because it is a little bit on the luxurious side,” Trump said with a smirk.
- President Donald Trump and Mayor Zohran Mamdani held a joint press conference at Gracie Mansion on Monday, the first time a sitting president has visited the mayor’s residence in decades.
- I’ll be able to say you’re a going to be a great one.
- “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,” Mamdani said at a joint press conference following the meeting, adding that he would “work with anyone” willing to help ease the financial pressures facing New Yorkers.
- Their relationship has been striking given their political differences.
- Mamdani said the issue came up again during Monday’s meeting.
- Mamdani said he raised Temporary Protected Status with Trump, calling the program critical to New Yorkers and industries including health care and hospitality.
- “I made very clear this is a priority for me, a priority for our city, and I appreciated the consideration,” Mamdani said.
- Mamdani said he told Trump that “all of the members of the press” would be welcome on the Gracie Mansion lawn, regardless of their coverage or criticism.
- Trump repeatedly attacked Mamdani during the 2025 mayoral campaign, while Mamdani made opposition to the president and his policies a central part of his political identity.
- Donald Trump said on Monday that he hoped Zohran Mamdani would be a “great mayor” for New York, an unusually warm assessment of the democratic socialist leader whom the president and who the Republicans have spent months holding up as a symbol of the Democratic party’s alleged embrace of “communism” ahead of the November midterms.