Much brouhaha was made over last week’s “secret” meeting between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump in Washington.
The two gathered in D.C. last Thursday mainly to talk housing, both have said.
At separate events, less than 24 hours apart last week, both leaders talked about talking with each other often. Neither mentioned the meeting. Media reported it took hours to confirm Mamdani was even out of state.
Asked Tuesday about the clandestine nature of the trip, who was informed and if he was concerned about the city’s response in the event of an emergency, Mamdani said he was following the Trump administration’s lead.
“They made the decision to not share the meeting on their public schedule and so we followed suit accordingly,” Mamdani said. “However, the top members of my administration knew of the meeting — and no matter where I am, I am always the mayor of our city and able to respond to anything of urgency.”
Mamdani social media
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump pose for photo in Oval Office on Thursday, Feb. 26.
“As soon as the meeting concluded, we shared that information publicly — as well as the results of that meeting,” Mamdani said, adding, “including the release of the Columbia student detained by ICE earlier that morning.
The mayor also gave him a list of names of other Columbia students detained because of their “activity.”
As far as the meeting, the mayor’s press secretary said the meeting had been scheduled prior to Trump’s State of the Union address, in which he poked a bit of fun at the Democratic mayor from New York.
There are new details about a Columbia University student who was detained and then released by ICE after taken from university housing, sparking an uproar on campus. Mayor Zohran Mamdani shared information about a conversation he had with President Trump the day it unfolded. NBC New York’s Erica Byfield reports.
Once back in the Big Apple, Mamdani said only that the meeting had been in the works since the last time the two met, in November. He also didn’t share any thoughts on when the two might meet again.
The mayor said the goal of the meeting with President Trump was to discuss a housing development being called the Sunnyside Yards project in Queens.
A project that could bring thousands of apartments in New York City and tens of thousands of jobs may be back on track. The long-stalled Sunnyside Yards project could be moving forward after Thursday’s surprise meeting between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump. NBC New York’s Andrew Siff reports