They talked actual property, debated difficult zoning code, and mulled over the right way to get a utility big to convey down electrical energy charges.
Then, they talked about what it takes to construct housing in America’s largest metropolis and the way the well being of the 5 boroughs hinges on the streets being secure.
Those have been a few of the matters New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump coated during a virtually hourlong meeting on the White House final week.
Mamdani, who arrived in Washington, DC, for sit-down Friday, made his manner by the West Wing of the White House alongside three prime aides, senior adviser Morris Katz, press secretary Dora Pekec and his chief of workers, Elle Bisgaard-Church, based on an individual acquainted with the meeting.
When it was lastly time to enter the Oval, solely Bisgaard-Church was invited. Inside was Trump and his personal chief of workers, Susie Wiles.
“Our conversation focused on New York City, and I think that is a point of shared focus,” Mamdani advised NCS 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 was a tour, with Trump taking Mamdani into the Cabinet Room, which overlooks a now paved-over Rose Garden. The room can be house to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidential portrait. Mamdani and Trump posed in entrance of the portray; Trump flashed a smile and posed with his signature thumbs-up. Mamdani clasped his arms and provided a faint smile yielding a brand new picture — three males from New York who’ve shaken politics in their very own methods.
“It was a Great Honor meeting Zohran Mamdani, the new Mayor of New York City!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday, sharing images of the 2 after the meeting.
When the doorways opened to permit cameras into the room, Trump heaped reward on Mamdani, suggesting he and the person he typically falsely known as a “communist” truly had fairly a bit in widespread.
“Some of his ideas really are the same ideas that I have,” Trump stated whereas sitting at his desk as Mamdani stood beside him. “We agree on a lot more than I would’ve thought.”
It was a surprisingly constructive ending to a high-stakes meeting between two diametrically opposed politicians who’ve spent a number of months buying and selling barbs.
“I can only take one meeting at a time, one conversation at a time,” Mamdani advised NCS 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.”
Mamdani advised NCS he spoke to Trump about immigration during their meeting — with the looming query of whether or not the president will ramp up his immigration crackdown in New York, like he has in some other blue cities.
But even with out that, the presence of federal officers and enforcement action is being felt throughout the town’s immigrant communities.
Advocates have reported an uptick in apprehensions and focused operations. In response, immigrant rights organizations have began to arrange, distributing “know your rights” pamphlets and coaching citizen patrols to spot Immigration and Customs Enforcement exercise and alert individuals who could also be in danger.
While Mamdani wouldn’t say whether or not Trump agreed to not enhance immigration enforcement within the metropolis, he stated he advised the president New York City regulation enforcement is prepared to collaborate with the federal authorities so long as it stays inside the current parameters. New York’s “sanctuary city” guidelines say native regulation enforcement are solely required to collaborate with federal businesses on immigration enforcement solely when individuals convicted of violent or severe crimes are concerned.
“The concern comes from beyond those crimes,” Mamdani stated. “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 beforehand stated he didn’t imagine immigration motion had gone far sufficient when he was requested about officers violently detaining individuals inside courtrooms and on metropolis streets. On Saturday, the president appeared to again down from his previous threats to send federal reinforcements into New York City, telling reporters he would achieve this provided that the town wants it.
Mamdani wouldn’t inform NCS on Sunday whether or not the president agreed with him on the right way to deal with immigration enforcement within the metropolis.
“I’ll let the president speak for himself, but I did make very clear that our focus comes back to public safety,” Mamdani stated. “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 spent the weekend within the capital after his meeting. On Friday night, Mamdani, a fierce critic of the Israeli authorities, 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 within the Bronx.
“My responsibility is to work,” Mamdani advised the group. “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 feedback got here after Mamdani earlier within the day doubled down on his assaults in opposition to Trump, regardless of the pleasant meeting.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the mayor-elect was requested to make clear whether or not he believes Trump is fascist. During the Friday meeting, Trump reduce him off, jokingly telling Mamdani it was “OK” to name him one when he was requested the identical query 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.”