Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former President Barack Obama led a singalong at a Bronx child care center on Saturday.

The joint appearance was intended to promote child care policies, a key point of Mamdani’s agenda. It was held at the Learning Through Pre-K Center, which is part of the city’s free preschool program.

What You Need To Know

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former President Barack Obama led a singalong at a Bronx child care center on Saturday

The joint appearance was intended to promote child care policies, a key point of Mamdani’s agenda. It was held at the Learning Through Pre-K Center, which is part of the city’s free preschool program

Late last week, President Donald Trump accused the mayor of “destroying New York” while criticizing a proposal he introduced with Gov. Kathy Hochul to place a new tax on second homes in the city valued at more than $5 million

The show of support from Obama also comes when Mamdani, who constitutionally cannot run for president because he is a naturalized citizen born in Uganda, is increasingly being asked to weigh in on Democratic leadership

It also served as a public display of support from the former president at a time when the mayor’s relationship with the current president has appeared to sour.

Late last week, President Donald Trump accused the mayor of “destroying New York” while criticizing a proposal he introduced with Gov. Kathy Hochul to place a new tax on second homes in the city valued at more than $5 million.

“Sadly, Mayor Mamdani is DESTROYING New York! It has no chance! The United States of America should not contribute to its failure,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “It will only get WORSE. The TAX, TAX, TAX Policies are SO WRONG. People are fleeing. They must change their ways, AND FAST. History has proven, THIS ‘STUFF’ JUST DOESN’T WORK,” Trump wrote on social media.

Mamdani has brushed off the president’s criticism.

“[The criticism is] not a surprise, given that the president has many deep policy differences, and I am not shy about writing them both publicly and privately,” he said.

Despite their deep political differences, the two New Yorkers have historically enjoyed a mostly cordial public relationship.

“We have one thing in common. We want this city of ours that we love to do incredibly well,” Trump said after the pair’s first Oval Office meeting in November 2025.

The cordiality has mostly persisted, despite Trump having questioned the Mamdani’s immigration status in the early days of his campaign.

“A lot of people are saying he’s here illegally, you know, we’re gonna look at everything,” the president said during a July 2025 press conference.

For more than a decade. Trump has falsely claimed that Obama was not born in the U.S. and therefore was legally ineligible to be president.

“The more I go into it, the more suspect it is,” Trump told CNN in April 2011.

The relationship between Obama and Mamdani pre-dates the mayor’s November election — when the former president called to offer counsel and compliment his campaign.

“We spoke about the importance, in a moment such as this, where politics is often characterized by a language of darkness — the necessity of hope,” the mayor said in August 2025.

The show of support from Obama also comes when Mamdani, who constitutionally cannot run for president because he is a naturalized citizen born in Uganda, is increasingly being asked to weigh in on Democratic leadership.

This weekend on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the mayor remained vague when replying to questions about whether Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, of Brooklyn, should seek reelection in 2028.

He spoke highly of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez when asked if he would support her potentially challenging their fellow New Yorker.

When asked if the Democratic Party needs a generational leadership change, the mayor criticized the current state of the party, saying it needs to more strongly demonstrate vision.

Spectrum News asked Brooklynite House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries about calls for Schumer to step aside.

“I continue to support Leader Schumer,” Jeffries stated.