New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, according to a White House official and two people familiar with the plans.
The timing and purpose of the meeting, which was first reported by The New York Times, are unclear. The New York Post first reported that Mamdani would travel to Washington.
Republicans have publicly bashed Mamdani, trying to frame the mayor as a radical Democrat who would hurt New York City. At the same time, Trump and Mamdani had a friendlier than expected meeting at the White House in November, just days after Mamdani was elected the city’s next mayor.
At the time, Trump called Mamdani “a very rational person” and that he believed Mamdani was “focused on New York City.”
“We agree on a lot more than I would have thought,” Trump said in November. “I want him to do a great job, and we’ll help him do a great job.”
Since that meeting, the extent of Trump’s and Mamdani’s ongoing relationship is unclear. Asked by a reporter Wednesday how often he speaks with the president, Mamdani said that he would keep those conversations “private.” When the conversations do take place, Mamdani said, they center on bettering New York City.
Trump brought up Mamdani during his State of the Union address, calling him a “communist” but also referring to him as “a nice guy.”
“I think he’s a nice guy, actually,” Trump said. “I speak to him a lot. Bad policy, but nice guy.”
In recent weeks, Trump has railed against a project to build another tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey underneath the Hudson River. He has emphasized that he did not want the federal government to be responsible for cost overruns, but Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced last week that the multibillion-dollar project would resume after the Trump administration released $127 million in frozen funds.
[/gpt3]
