Mamdani’s meeting with Trump was a Trojan Horse triumph at the White House | US politics

In the hours after Zohran Mamdani met with Donald Trump on Thursday for an undisclosed meeting in the Oval Office, a meme quickly circulated on X.

It looked like a screenshot of a TikToker doling out questionable financial advice, but instead had the mayor’s photo in the foreground. On the left it read “I’m getting 12,000 housing units” and “Release of citizen kidnapped by ICE” and on the right “You’re getting a fake newspaper cover.”

It was a nice summary of two unexpected victories that Mamdani seemed to win in Washington for little in return, part of a surprisingly cozy relationship that continues to develop between City Hall and the White House. Mamdani’s office later confirmed that the mayor had submitted a proposal to secure $21 billion in federal grants to fulfill his central promise to create more affordable housing throughout the city. This would include building a terrace above the busy Sunnyside rail yard in Queens to build 12,000 housing units. The president was “enthusiastic,” according to the mayor’s chief spokesperson.

To smooth things over, Mamdani made sure to play to Trump’s ego. For the former real estate developer turned reality TV star and commander-in-chief, flattery can get you anywhere.

The mayor presented the president with two front pages of the New York Daily News. The first was the infamous relic of 1975, when Gerald Ford effectively told a bankrupt New York City to die. The second was a custom model – bait for a president preoccupied with building a legacy. The fake cover read: “Trump delivered more than 12,000 homes; most since 1973.” On social media, Mamdani made sure to share the grainy image of himself, standing behind the resolute desk while the president grins enraged, brandishing the facsimile.

For Trump, a real estate obsessive who has shown a particular dedication to ensuring that architecture is the enduring manifestation of his time in office (see the ongoing construction of the president’s prized East Wing Ballroom and the putting of his name on the Trump-Kennedy Performing Arts Center), Mamdani managed to strike a chord by focusing on the New York real estate market, something that stirs passion and frustration within Trump in equal measure.

What looked like a Trojan Horse triumph unfolded at the White House on Thursday. While Mamdani wooed the president with numerous discussions about property, he also secured the release of a Columbia University student detained by federal immigration after her arrest that morning. The mayor also asked Trump to consider dismissing the cases of four students — including Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil — all of whom had been detained in New York, according to Mamdani’s chief spokesperson.

Instead of engaging in a social media war with the administration, in the face of the president’s persistent threats and press conferences full of denunciations, the real “art of the deal” could have been soft power via Photoshop.

The question now remains: does the mayor’s conciliatory behavior have a cost?

On the campaign trail last year, Mamdani wasted no time in calling the president a “despot.” Now, after a landslide victory and firmly ensconced in Gracie Mansion, he has avoided publicly calling out the president and trying to escape his wrath when it comes to routine threats to withhold federal funding for sanctuary cities. An anger from which other mayors of blue cities, like Brandon Johnson of Chicago, have not been spared.

In fact, since Mamdani’s first, surprisingly friendly, meeting with Trump in November, he and the president have refrained from any public fallout. Last year, as reporters and cameras prepared for the newly elected mayor’s public takedown, it became clear that while Trump likes to slander his political opponents, he likes a winner more. “He came out of nowhere,” the president said of Mamdani. “We agree on a lot more than I thought we would.”

During his record-breaking State of the Union address, where Trump wasted no time ridiculing Democrats, his references to Mamdani left the mayor relatively unscathed. “I talk to him a lot. Bad politics, but nice guy,” the president said.

At a time when the divide between the two parties has never been deeper, Mamdani may well prove the truth of catching more flies with honey. But for a democratic socialist who staked his victory on being the president’s “worst nightmare,” his intimacy with the president appears like a chink in the armor to some observers.

Mamdani previously vowed to use his power to “reject Donald Trump’s fascism,” but as he tries to muster goodwill to implement his mayoral agenda, some New York progressives are ready to denounce any perceived void — especially if he gives ground after the combative remarks that defined his campaign. In recent weeks, he has already faced local resistance over continued sweeps of homeless camps in New York – this time led by a more appropriate agency – despite his pledge to end the practice during his run for office.

It is too early to call the concessions that Mamdani appears to have obtained from Trump a clear victory. New Yorkers have yet to learn whether the administration will advance the funds needed for the housing project, and ultimately the mayor is dealing with a mercurial president who is quick to abandon connections at the first sign of strain.

For now, Mamdani seems to be leaning toward getting what he needs: two guys from New York, talking about real estate.