Mayor Zohran Mamdani was grilled by reporters during a press conference Friday afternoon after his surprise White House meeting with President Donald Trump. Mamdani opened up about asking the president to intervene on behalf of Columbia University student Ellie Aghayeva hours after she was taken into custody on campus by ICE.

“I’m grateful that shortly after our meeting, the president called me to inform me that Elmina would be imminently released, and indeed she was,” Mamdani said.

What You Need To Know

Mayor Zohran Mamdani shared details Friday about his Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump

Mamdani called the conversation “productive”

The mayor said the meeting was a continuation of his November conversation with Trump

Mamdani says he also asked the president to drop immigration cases against four other members of the Columbia community, including Mahmoud Khalil, and he once again shared with the president “my concerns as part of my longstanding belief that ice raids are not only cruel, they also do nothing to advance the cause of public safety.”

The mayor called the conversation with the commander-in-chief “productive” and a follow-up to their first meeting in November, where the two discussed affordable housing.

Mamdani showed up to his latest meeting with a mock newspaper headline and a proposal for Sunnyside, Queens.

“I proposed working together to build more than 12,000 new homes in our city, which would be the single largest housing development New York City has seen since 1973. The president was interested in the idea.”

Also Friday, the mayor was pressed about the decision by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to not pursue assault charges against the 27-year-old arrested after snowballs were thrown at officers in Washington Square Park.

Mamdani said while he believes officers should be treated with respect, “what I’ve said in regard to the snowball fight is that it’s a snowball fight.”

During an NYPD promotion ceremony, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch re-affirmed her support for New York’s finest, saying, “As you’ve seen recently, I certainly will not tolerate any attacks on my cops. Period.”