NEW YORK, September 21 — President Donald Trump will meet New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Gracie Mansion on Monday, as the president travels to the city for the United Nations General Assembly, Mamdani’s communications director, Anna Bahr, said. The White House confirmed the meeting will take place but offered no further details. Bahr said the two will discuss issues affecting the city and New Yorkers.
The relationship between Trump and Mamdani has been notably warmer than the president’s typical posture toward Democratic officials, especially those from New York.
During the 2025 campaign, Trump called Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic.” Their first meeting after Mamdani’s election was quite cordial, with Trump saying at the White House that the then-mayor-elect would “surprise some conservative people.” During a February meeting, Mamdani gave Trump a mock New York Daily News front page that said “Trump to City: Let’s Build.” That was a riff on the famous front-page headline from 1975, “FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD,” referring to President Gerald Ford’s promise to veto financial assistance to the city.
Mamdani’s aides said at the time that it was meant to show Trump the reaction and support that new federal investments in housing could have in the city.
A shifting political map
Mamdani, a democratic socialist, upset former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary before winning the general election in November. Cuomo is a three-term former governor, and the result marked a significant shift in New York City politics. Republicans have frequently used Mamdani as a political foil.
Trump’s personal interactions with him, however, have remained cordial. The meeting is set for Monday at Gracie Mansion, the historic mayoral residence on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Trump’s visit to New York comes for the U.N. General Assembly, a major annual gathering of world leaders. What to watch next is whether the cordial tone of the February meeting carries into Monday’s talks, and whether the discussion of city issues produces anything beyond the symbolic.
