Mamdani avoids discomforting Trump and receives him despite the media ban
The president finds himself face to face with the mayor of New York for the third time
WashingtonThe President of the United States, Donald Trump, met this Monday with the Mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, at Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the city's mayor. The tycoon took advantage of the trip to attend the United Nations General Assembly, which kicks off this Tuesday, to also meet with the socialist leader. This is already the third time that the two politicians have met face-to-face, and Mamdani did not want to inconvenience the president and received him despite the veto imposed by Trump on several media outlets, including CNN.
The visit of the Mayor of New York to the White House last November already caused great bewilderment due to the good rapport with Trump, despite the repeated attacks the Republican had directed at him. On that occasion, just when Mamdani had just won the elections, the president exhibited great sympathy for someone he had previously described as a communist threat to the country. "He has great potential" to be a "great mayor," said Trump this time in the press conference following the meeting. And he added that he hopes he will be because he wants "the best for New York," which is his hometown.
The meeting took place after the progress of socialist candidates in the Democratic primaries and the increase in Trump's attacks against the group to which Mamdani belongs, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Since Mamdani swept the elections in New York, the Republican president has repeatedly warned that the victory of the social-democratic candidates "is the main threat" to the United States since its founding.
The two leaders met behind closed doors, but appeared together afterward and showed cordiality toward each other. They spoke primarily about housing, for example, about an "agreement" to launch a project of some 12,000 homes in Queens and, specifically, to mobilize "the financing and technical and legal authorizations" at the federal level, according to what Mamdani said.
They also spoke about the Haitian migrants in New York, to whom Washington has cancelled their temporary protected status, which leaves them unprotected from deportation. On the matter, Trump only said that Mamdani has "strong opinions" and that he has "strong opinions about taking care of people".
Veto on the media
The meeting took place on the same day that major American television networks agreed to boycott Trump and suspend their coverage of the pool presidential –the group of journalists that follows the American leader daily– after the White House blocked a CNN representative's access to it. In an unprecedented escalation in his war against the press, the American president announced on Friday that he was banning the entry of CNN, the MS NOW network, and Politico as retaliation for their coverage.
Mamdani only made a very indirect reference to it when he highlighted that he had invited "all members of the press." Trump insisted on his message that these media outlets spread "fake" information, while also criticizing the boycott by the major networks: "They said they would boycott me, but they never do. The press has an obligation to be fair." All this, while Mamdani listened to him without looking at him, without making any gesture, and avoiding entering into the debate.
