US President Donald Trump met with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday.
Mamdani shared details of the meeting in a post on social media, stating, “I had a productive meeting with President Trump this afternoon," alongside a photo of him standing in the Oval Office next to Trump.
The image shows Trump holding a fake Daily News front page with the headline: "Trump to City: Let’s Rebuild." Mamdani added, “I’m looking forward to building more housing in New York City."
Later, Mamdani posted that he and Trump had spoken by phone regarding a Columbia University student detained earlier that morning. The student, Elaina Aghayeva, was allegedly detained after federal immigration agents used deception to gain entry into a campus residence building, according to university officials.
Mamdani wrote, “In our meeting earlier, I shared my concerns about Columbia student Elaina Aghayeva, who was detained by ICE this morning. He has just informed me that she will be released imminently." The student later confirmed her release on social media.
The meeting comes just days after Trump mentioned Mayor Mamdani in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, referring to him as a "nice guy" who has “bad policies" while noting that the two speak “a lot". Mamdani responded in a Wednesday press conference, stating that whenever they speak, the conversations focus on how to keep the city progressing.
The meeting was not publicly announced in advance by either leader’s office. CNN had reported earlier in the day that the two were scheduled to meet, based on information from two people familiar with the plans. The discussion was expected to cover housing, a topic they also addressed during their previous meeting at the White House in November.
During their last meeting, Trump praised Mamdani, suggesting that despite labeling him a “communist" during the mayoral campaign, the two had much in common. The conversation included discussions on real estate, zoning codes, and ways to reduce electricity rates, among other topics.
After that meeting, Axios reported that Trump and Mamdani had been exchanging text messages, an unexpected development given their history of public hostility.
During the mayoral election campaign, Trump warned New Yorkers that electing Mamdani would “ruin the city, while Mamdani had called Trump a fascist. But in person, the tone shifted dramatically.