Donald Trump made an unexpected stop Monday evening in New York City during his two-day visit for the United Nations General Assembly, heading to Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side for a meeting with Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
After the hour-long meeting, one reporter asked Trump about barring CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House and if Mamdani had offered him any advice.
Trump responded by pointing to the large number of journalists gathered outside, saying, ‘They said they were going to boycott me but they never boycott me.’
And in a five-word taunt, Trump added: ‘Look at all that press!’
The president’s mockery came just hours after a disastrous ribbon cutting event on the White House lawn where video was beamed out to the world but without any audio after major networks boycotted Trump’s announcement of a new helipad.
The White House TV pool, made up of ABC, CBS, Fox, CNN and NBC, announced earlier that they were suspending coverage of all presidential events in solidarity with journalists barred by the administration over the weekend.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued the Trump administration on Monday morning over violating their First Amendment rights after their reporters were turned away from the White House.
Mamdani was careful not to agree with Trump as they addressed the reporters at the podium together. ‘I told the president that we’re going to have all of the members of the press here on the lawn and that is something that I believe in. As everyone, no matter the opinion or the critique, that we engage,’ Mamdani said.
Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speak to reporters during a press conference following their meeting at Gracie Mansion in New York City, US, September 21
Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speak to reporters
The pair also told reporters that they had discussed a proposal to create roughly 12,000 homes and 30,000 jobs in New York, potentially creating an entirely new neighborhood on what is currently a major rail yard in Sunnyside, Queens.
Mamdani said the two sides agreed to establish a new level of conversation around the possibility of developing the site, which would require significant cooperation and investment.
Trump also said he had influenced Mamdani’s choice to live at Gracie Mansion.
He said the mayor had expressed some doubts about moving into the ‘luxurious Gracie Mansion,’ but Trump told him that he should live there.
Asked about Mamdani, Trump offered a positive assessment, saying the mayor ‘certainly got potential.’
Before arriving at Gracie Mansion, Trump described the mayor’s residence as ‘one of his favorite places in the world,’ recalling that he had spent ‘lots of hours there over the years’ with previous mayors.
‘It will be interesting to see how it looks now, invited by Mayor Mamdani. Look forward to it,’ Trump wrote.
The meeting is the third face-to-face encounter between Trump and Mamdani, and the first to take place in New York City.
President Donald Trump, riding inside ‘The Beast,’ arriving at Gracie Mansion for a meeting with New York mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday evening
Trump described Mamdani as a ‘very rational person’ and said he could ‘surprise some conservative people,’ during their first meeting in the Oval Office back in November 2025
The two previously met at the White House in November 2025, shortly after Mamdani’s election, and again in February.
Mamdani’s communications director, Anna Bahr, said Monday’s meeting would focus on ‘issues affecting New York City and New Yorkers.’
The White House confirmed the meeting but did not provide additional details.
And the meeting marks a striking shift in a relationship that began with very public hostility toward one an other.
During Mamdani’s 2025 mayoral campaign, Trump repeatedly attacked the Democratic socialist, at one point calling him a ‘100% Communist Lunatic.’
Trump also criticized Mamdani’s political agenda and warned about the potential consequences of his policies for New York.
Mamdani, on the campaign was sharply critical of Trump and his administration, particularly over immigration enforcement.
During the campaign, he called ICE a ‘rogue agency’ and said that if Trump pursued his promised mass deportation effort in New York, he would ‘have to get through me’ to do so.’
During Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, he called ICE a ‘rogue agency’ and said that if Trump pursued his promised mass deportation effort in New York, he would ‘have to get through me’ to do so’
He also accused Trump of using the threat of federal enforcement to intimidate New Yorkers.
But the tone changed considerably after Mamdani won the election.
When the two first met in the Oval Office back in November 2025, their interaction was notably cordial.
Trump described Mamdani as a ‘very rational person’ and said he could ‘surprise some conservative people.’
Trump also said he would be happy if Mamdani succeeded in running New York.
The two met again at the White House in February, with housing among the issues discussed.
Mamdani has said the pair remain in contact by phone and text, although he has declined to discuss how frequently they communicate or what they talk about.
Trump’s visit is particularly notable because presidential visits to Gracie Mansion are rare.
The last sitting president to visit was Ronald Reagan in 1981, meaning Trump’s meeting with Mamdani marks the first presidential visit to the mayor’s residence in 45 years.
Trump’s week in New York City features high-level diplomacy, with the United Nations General Assembly bringing world leaders from across the globe to Manhattan.
The president is due to address the UN on Tuesday and is holding a string of meetings with foreign leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi.
Talks on Iran, the Middle East and other international issues are expected to take place before Trump heads back to Washington later in the week for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House.
