Trump sees ‘great potential’ in Mamdani

President Donald Trump loves Gracie Mansion – and he thinks its current occupant, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, has “great potential” to be an all-time great mayor too.

The leaders held a muted but cordial press conference in the backyard of the Upper East Side mansion early Monday evening – a surreal atmosphere representative of the unique relationship Mamdani and Trump have struck, despite their opposing politics and stark disagreement on issues like immigration.

“It’s a special place, it’s a beautiful place when you go inside,” Trump said of the historic home.

But it’s not better than the White House. “The White House is the most special of all houses, I have to say, and I don’t even think the mayor would argue with that,” Trump said. 

Mamdani, holding a straight face for the entire press conference, just barely flicked his head in acknowledgement.

“I want what’s good for New York, I want what’s good for the country,” Trump said. “I want him to be a great mayor, and he’s certainly got potential. He’s got great potential.” 

Mamdani defended his continued diplomatic approach with Trump – despite speaking during the mayoral campaign of being Trump’s “worst nightmare” – by suggesting that the meetings work to the advantage of the city. “If a meeting can be the difference between detention and dignity, it’s a meeting worth taking,” Mamdani said, referencing his advocacy in February for the release of a Columbia University undergraduate student in immigration detention.

“Mamdani does a better job of navigating Trump’s personality better than any Democrat in recent memory,” said Democratic strategist Trip Yang. “The bromance of the year has continued.”

But outside of their private meetings, the Trump-led White House and Mamdani-led City Hall continue to work towards opposite goals in some areas. Only last week, Mamdani joined other municipalities in suing to block Trump administration guidance that would allow the denial of green cards based on use of public benefits.

While Yang said Mamdani’s base, including the New York City Democratic Socialists of America, have given Mamdani a lot of leeway in his first year, the mayor’s record of work with the Trump administration will be more closely judged when he runs for reelection in 2029. If Mamdani is able to advocate for notable changes in immigration arrests or the restoration of Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from Haiti and Syria, his record would likely be judged a massive success. So far, he hasn’t been able to move the needle in those areas, and it’s unclear whether a lack of progress there will be counted against him by other Democrats. Earlier this year, the city fired dozens of Haitian city workers whose work permits through TPS were expiring.

The policy item that Mamdani appears to be closer to advancing is federal investment in developing housing at Sunnyside Yard. Mamdani said the president had initially expressed interest when the mayor proposed it during a meeting at the White House in February. The project, which would entail building a giant platform over the railyard to serve as a base for 12,000 affordable homes, would be transformative for Western Queens. It would also be highly expensive – costing an estimated $21 billion – and a logistical nightmare. Still, Mamdani was optimistic about the project’s future.

“We’ve agreed to set up a new level of that conversation between our housing and operations team at City Hall and the White House team,” Mamdani said Monday of what’s changed from initial discussions. 

Trump declined to commit to providing the millions of dollars in funding needed, but spoke favorably of how the project would bring thousands of units of affordable housing to the surrounding community if it were to come to fruition. 

“I’ve been watching that for 35 years. Everybody’s wanted to do something with Sunnyside Yards,” Trump said, adding, “You’re going to need a lot of federal approvals and probably some federal money to do it. But it’s always been a great location.”

Presidential visits to Gracie Mansion are few and far between. The last one was Ronald Reagan’s 1981 event where he presented then-Mayor Ed Koch with a stage prop check for the Westway project, which never came to fruition. Two decades earlier, in 1962, John F. Kennedy visited Gracie Mansion to deliver a speech about medical care for the elderly as mayors from across the country looked on. And Harry Truman made an appearance in 1949 for an official United Nations-related luncheon. All that to say, Mamdani is now part of a small cohort of New York City mayors to play host to the president at their official residence. 

Before the 34-year-old democratic socialist bested former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral election nearly a year ago, the prospect would have been unfathomable to many. As a candidate, Mamdani spoke out unapologetically against the president, criticizing his deportation policies, accusing him of mounting a “war on working people,” and even calling him a “fascist” and “despot.” Trump, in turn, fired off a litany of insults and threats against the rising candidate, describing Mamdani as a “radical” and "lunatic," falsely labeling him as a communist, threatening to deport him and to withhold federal funds from the city. All that bad blood was of little consequence when the two actually came face-to-face.

Their previous two meetings, both held at the White House, were strikingly civil – even friendly. In the months since, both have continued to emphasize their shared commitment to the city. While in office, Mamdani has been measured in his public condemnations of Trump, leveling his criticism against the administration’s policies, not the president himself. Trump has largely spared Mamdani from the personal vitriol and name-calling he’s hurled at other Democrats. It’s not just rhetoric either – there have been concrete instances in which Mamdani’s approach has seemingly gotten through to the president, like when the federal government released  a Columbia University student from immigration detention, or the way Trump has backed off his threats to withhold all federal funds from the city if Mamdani “doesn’t behave.”

While the Gracie Mansion meeting was notable for its strikingly civil tone and rarity, it also provided media outlets recently banned from the White House a backdoor opportunity to question the president. Gloria Pazmino of CNN – one of the three banned outlets along with MS NOW and Politico – asked Trump a question on the Gracie Mansion lawn, while Politico’s Joe Anuta got a question in after Trump left the podium.

“I told the president that we’re going to have all of the members of the press here on the lawn and that is something that I believe in – that everyone, no matter the opinion or the critique that we engage,” Mamdani said. 

Trump, unsurprisingly, didn’t miss the chance to take a shot at the press. “It’s interesting because they said they were going to boycott me and they never boycott me, so I wasn’t very worried about that,” he said.