Mamdani during his visit to the White House on November 21, 2025.Image: keystone
Feb 27, 2026, 9:21 p.mFeb 27, 2026, 9:21 p.m
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he was able to get US President Donald Trump excited about a major construction project in his city. The left-wing Democrat said after a visit to Washington the day before that he had suggested that Trump build more than 12,000 new apartments. “The president was interested.” According to Mamdani, it would be the “largest housing project since 1973”. The White House did not initially comment.
It was the second meeting between Trump and Mamdani in the White House since the 34-year-old was elected mayor in November 2025. Both are divided by significant political differences. They represent opposing positions on key issues such as migration, social policy or the economy. But Mamdani’s first visit to the White House was surprisingly conciliatory.
Trump has repeatedly called the left-wing Democrat a “communist” and threatened to withhold federal funds for the city of New York, on which the city depends. Mamdani also came down hard on the US president during the election campaign.
He made the horrendous cost of living the central issue of his campaign – an issue that is likely to play a crucial role in the upcoming midterm elections at the federal level. In November, the so-called “midterms” will decide the House of Representatives and about a third of the seats in the Senate. According to surveys, approval ratings for Trump’s policies are falling.
Mamdani now said that during his meeting with the president he criticized the arrest of a student at New York’s Columbia University. The university said on Thursday that federal officials pretended to be looking for a missing person and gained access to a university dormitory in order to then arrest a student. Trump called him after the meeting and said the student was free again, Mamdani said. Some US media saw this as a sign that the Democrat could influence the president. (sda/dpa)