Mamdani meets Trump in surprise White House visit

February 27, 2026

Washington: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani held an unannounced meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, marking a striking encounter between two political opposites who have clashed sharply in recent months.

The meeting was not listed on the public schedule. No television cameras were invited into the Oval Office. Hours later, Mamdani described the interaction as “a productive meeting” and said he was “looking forward to building more housing in New York City.”

I had a productive meeting with President Trump this afternoon.

I’m looking forward to building more housing in New York City. pic.twitter.com/XnPbt0KXYU

— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) February 26, 2026

A photograph released by the mayor showed Trump seated behind the Resolute Desk holding two mock New York Daily News front pages. One was an authentic 1975 edition carrying the headline “Ford to City: Drop Dead.” The other was a fabricated page reading “Trump to City: Let’s Build,” crediting the president with backing a “New Era of Housing.”

In smaller print, the mock page declared: “Trump Delivers 12,000+ Homes; Most Since 1973.” City Hall spokeswoman Anna Bahr said the mayor had presented “a couple of pitches that would produce and construct more housing in a handful of projects than has happened in 50 years.”

No further details were immediately provided on the scope, location or funding of the proposed housing projects. The visit also took an unexpected turn on immigration.

After leaving the White House, Mamdani wrote on X: “In our meeting earlier, I shared my concerns about Columbia student Elaina Aghayeva, who was detained by ICE this morning. He has just informed me that she will be released imminently.” Aghayeva was later released. She had been detained early Thursday morning after federal agents entered a residential building on Columbia University’s Manhattan campus. Columbia said immigration officials “made misrepresentations to gain entry to the building” in order to arrest her.