Obama and Mamdani read and sing with New York preschoolers in first meeting | Barack Obama

Barack Obama met Zohran Mamdani for the first time Saturday at a daycare where the former Democratic U.S. president and New York mayor read to preschoolers and led a sing-along.

The meeting comes as Mamdani, a democratic socialist who celebrated his 100th day in office just over a week earlier, is also trying to build a working relationship with Donald Trump — Obama’s Republican successor as president.

Obama and Mamdani did not answer questions after reading the book Alone and Together to children – and singing The Wheels on the Bus.

Obama, the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer, offered to be a sounding board for Mamdani, 34. Mamdani’s star power, youth and progressive agenda have made him stand out in Democratic politics.

Mamdani took office in January after a campaign to make New York a more affordable place to live, centering his agenda on refocusing the government’s vast power on helping the city’s struggling working class.

Mamdani met with Trump twice at the White House – in November and February – to discuss issues affecting New York, where the president is from.

Despite these friendly meetings, their relationship has recently shown signs of strain, with Trump posting on social media on Thursday that Mamdani was “DESTROYING New York” with his tax policies and threatening to withdraw federal funding from the city.

Mamdani nevertheless appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday and told host Kristen Welker that his relationship with Trump was “honest, direct and productive.”

“One of the few things we have in common… is our love for New York City and doing business for New York City,” Mamdani said.

Guardian staff contributed to the report