Topline
President Donald Trump and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani are meeting at Gracie Mansion on Monday, gathering at the mayor’s official residence ahead of Trump’s appearance at the United Nations General Assembly this week.
Trump and Mamdani are meeting Monday afternoon.
Photo by ANGELA WEISS,SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Trump and Mamdani are discussing “issues affecting New York City and New Yorkers,” according to a statement from the mayor’s office, though the specifics of the meeting are unclear.
Discussions may touch on federal immigration enforcement and funding cuts to social services, among other things, The New York Times reported, noting the Department of Homeland Security announced last month “Operation Rotten Apple” resulted in 2,200 arrests in New York State as Mamdani rejected claims from federal officials that many of those detained were “criminals.”
The gathering marks Trump and Mamdani’s third meeting since Mamdani became mayor almost one year ago.
Key Background
Trump and Mamdani’s relationship has flip-flopped between intense and cordial, with each of their in-person meetings being far more mild than the callouts they have made against each other on social media. After Mamdani became mayor last year, he met with Trump at the White House in an unexpectedly friendly discussion in which the two agreed “on a lot more than I would have thought,” Trump said. Prior to Mamdani signing off on his pied-a-terre tax, which enforced a tax on secondary homes worth $5 million or more in New York City, Trump said the mayor’s tax policies were “SO WRONG” and, months later, floated federal intervention, though he has yet to follow up with an attempt to block the policy.
TANGENT
Trump will not be accompanied by a TV press pool on his trip to New York City, after no broadcasters making up the pool stepped in to replace CNN’s scheduled pool duties for Monday, meaning there will be no shared camera or other production component for broadcasters. This resulted in Trump’s speech at the unveiling of the White House helipad being completely inaudible Monday, as the standard boom microphone poolers use was not present. Trump abruptly banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, prompting backlash and leading to Monday’s pool vacancy. The outlets have since sued in response to the move.
Further Reading
Trump Floats Mamdani’s Arrest As He Ratchets Up Threats: Here’s What He’s Said (Forbes)
Trump Says He’s ‘Okay’ With Mamdani Considering Him A Fascist In Friendly Meeting (Forbes)
Trump Suddenly Blasts Mamdani Over Pied-À-Terre Tax—A Surcharge On $5 Million Secondary Homes (Forbes)
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