From ‘little communist’ to ‘great mayor’: Trump, Mamdani strike warm tone in New York

US President Donald Trump praised New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday as the two struck a warm tone during talks in Manhattan, setting aside their political differences to discuss immigration enforcement and a multi-billion-dollar housing project.

"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.

The closed-door talks lasted around an hour and marked the pair's third public meeting since Mamdani swept the mayoral election last year.


Mamdani 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.

"President and I have been very frank about the many disagreements that we have, and immigration is one of those places. We both spoken about very different approaches and beliefs. I will continue to have conversations with the President and, frankly, anyone who can deliver relief to the people of the city," Mamdani said.

The two also discussed a 12,000-home building proposal in New York, which they had previously discussed in February and would require an estimated $21 billion in federal government funding.

"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.

Mamdani said he planned to continue cooperating with Trump despite acknowledging that they have "many disagreements."

Trump, a Republican, had heavily criticised Mamdani before he took office in January, calling him "my little communist" and a "total nut job", but the two have since struck a surprisingly warm relationship.

Mamdani, 34, said he had told Trump that all members of the press would be welcome at their joint press conference, held in front of the mayor's official residence.

"That is something that I believe in, is everyone, no matter the opinion or the critique, that we engage," he told reporters.

Trump's visit came as top US television networks essentially boycotted coverage of the president in protest of his decision to ban three outlets, CNN, MS NOW and Politico, from the White House.

Trump brushed off a suggestion that he had issued the media bans to distract the public from criticism of the war in Iran.

"It's interesting because they (the media) said they were going to boycott me, but they never boycott me, so I wasn't very worried about that," he said.

(With inputs from AFP)