President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mandami met at the White House on Friday in a session that both men described as far more cordial and more productive than many observers had anticipated. The two leaders said they found surprising common ground on issues ranging from housing to energy costs, with both identifying affordability in New York as their shared top priority.
Asked about Mandami’s past criticisms, including calling him a “despot,” Trump brushed off the remarks. “I’ve been called worse… We get along very well,” he said, adding that he viewed the mayor-elect as “a fine person” confronting major challenges. “He’s got a big immigration problem, he’s got a big energy problem… but he’s a good man.”
Trump also spoke broadly about global conflicts, saying he believed he had “a way of getting peace,” and lamented the scale of casualties in Ukraine and Russia. He repeated his view that the conflict “should’ve never happened” and said it would not have occurred if he were president during its onset.
Mandami, for his part, said Trump’s stance on affordability aligned in unexpected ways with the priorities of his incoming administration.
“The new word is affordability,” Trump said, adding that costs including groceries remained a top concern for Americans. He credited his administration with bringing inflation “down to a normal number,” though he said it could fall further.
Mandami emphasized that many of New York’s cost-of-living issues predated Trump’s presidency and said his campaign message focused on confronting “a broken politic” in the city. He cited the struggles of low-income residents, noting that “one in five can’t even afford $2.90 for a MetroCard.”
Both men said they had an extensive conversation about housing. Trump said they were “very much in agreement” about the need to increase supply and reduce rent pressures. “The ultimate way is building a lot of additional housing,” Trump said. “He agrees with that and so do I.”
Mandami added that he supports property tax reform and wants a system that is “manageable” and “fair,” saying current regulations place additional burdens on renters and homeowners. He clarified that recent comments he made about “minority communities” referred to neighborhoods rather than intentions towards preferences.
Immigration also surfaced as a point of contention, though both expressed optimism about ongoing discussions. Trump said he expected disagreements to persist but believed the two could find common ground. Mandami said the city would continue following local and federal law “to protect New Yorkers,” and that he wanted consistency in how immigration rules are applied across boroughs.
Trump praised the NYPD and said the mayor-elect intended to maintain the department’s 35,000-officer headcount. Mandami reiterated his vow to keep police focused on core law-enforcement work and reduce the number of unrelated calls officers must handle.
The meeting also touched on international human rights, homelessness, and federal–city cooperation. Mandami highlighted the city’s worsening homelessness epidemic, noting that more than 100,000 schoolchildren have been homeless for nine consecutive years. He said he hoped a stronger partnership with the federal government could improve outcomes.
Trump repeatedly described New York as being at a “critical point,” saying the city “went bad” in recent years but could “come back greater than ever before.” He credited Mandami’s rapid political rise, “he came out of nowhere,” Trump said and suggested the mayor-elect has “a chance to really do something great.”
Mandami said he appreciated the conversation and was focused on delivering improvements in cost of living, housing, and public safety. “I’ve met with a man who is a very rational person,” Trump concluded. “He really wants to see New York be great again.”
