Mamdani avoids inconveniencing 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 mayor's official residence in the city. The tycoon took advantage of the trip to attend the United Nations General Assembly, which begins this Tuesday, to also meet with the socialist leader. This is already the third time 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 that the Republican had directed at him. On that occasion, just when Mamdani had just won the elections, the president exhibited great sympathy for the one 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 advance of socialist candidates in the Democratic primaries and the increase in Trump's attacks against the group of which Mamdani is a member, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Since Mamdani swept the New York elections, 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 afterwards and showed cordiality between them. According to what the mayor's office had reported, the goal of the meeting was to discuss the problems affecting the citizens of New York. Trump and Mamdani spoke mainly 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 the technical and legal authorizations" at a federal level, as the mayor said.
They also spoke about the Haitian migrants in New York, for whom Washington has canceled 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".
Media veto
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 access to a CNN representative. 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 MSNBC 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 in his message that these media outlets disseminate "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 the debate.