President Donald Trump plans to meet with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at the White House on Thursday, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
Mamdani made an unannounced visit to the national capital after showing no activity in his daily public schedule.
Mamdani’s visit to the White House marked his second meeting with Trump, following a gathering shortly after Trump’s election in November that struck a decidedly friendly tone between the two leaders. Trump, who repeatedly called Mamdani a “communist” during his mayoral campaign, said he was “very comfortable” living in New York City and said they shared a desire to improve the city.
The White House and the mayor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The 1 p.m. meeting is expected to focus in part on housing, the New York Times reported.
Mamdani and Trump have remained in contact since their meeting in November, even as critics from both sides of the political spectrum have raised questions about their relationship. During the election, Trump repeatedly attacked Mamdani, who ran on a progressive platform, urging voters to reject his candidacy and threatening to withdraw government funding from the president’s hometown of New York. But since Mamdani’s victory, Trump has expressed begrudging admiration for the new mayor.
Mamdani said Trump recently gave him his phone number and their conversation focused on providing services to New Yorkers.
Still, cracks appeared in relations between the two countries. Mamdani signed an executive order earlier this month to strengthen protections for immigrants from federal enforcement, much to the chagrin of administration officials. Trump suspended funding for key infrastructure projects in the city, including the Gateway Tunnel, but eventually relented. Immigration arrests at Columbia University earlier Thursday could further strain relations between the city and the federal government.
