NEW YORK: President Donald Trump heaped praise Monday onto New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani as the pair set aside their political differences to discuss immigration enforcement and a multi-billion dollar housing project.
Trump, a Republican, heavily criticized Mamdani before he took office in January — calling him “my little communist” and a “total nut job” — but the two men have since struck a surprisingly warm relationship.
“Hopefully, you’re going to be a great (mayor). I’ll be able to say you’re going to be a great one, and you’re off to a start,” Trump told Mamdani at a news conference.
Their closed-door talks in Manhattan, which lasted around an hour, marked the pair’s third public meeting since Mamdani swept the mayoral election last year.
“We appreciate the president’s commitment to the city,” Mamdani said of Trump, who was visiting his hometown New York ahead of the United Nations General Assembly.
The 34-year-old said he expressed his “very strong opinions about how we can keep New Yorkers safe” when asked about Trump’s culling of Temporary Protected Status for thousands of immigrants as part of mass deportation plans.