New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani just had a “productive” meeting with President Trump at the White House, and it seems a truly unique gift was all it took to get President Trump “enthusiastic” about tackling New York City’s housing crisis, as reported by The Hill. This could be a huge step for affordable housing in the Big Apple!
Mayor Mamdani shared the news on X, posting a photo of himself in the Oval Office with President Trump. In the picture, President Trump is proudly holding up two newspaper front pages. One of them is an authentic New York Daily News page from 1975, famously headlined, “Ford to City: Drop Dead,” a stark reminder of when former President Ford refused to bail out New York City during its 1970s bankruptcy scare.
But the real kicker, and the mayor’s clever gift, was the second, mock-up newspaper. This fabricated front page perfectly mirrored the original’s style but with a much more positive message: “Trump to City: Let’s Build,” followed by the subheadline, “Backs New Era of Housing.”
During their unannounced meeting, Mayor Mamdani pitched President Trump on an ambitious project that could deliver an estimated 12,000 new housing units
Mamdani’s office is calling this potentially one of the biggest federal investments in housing in the past 50 years, and honestly, that’s pretty wild to think about. It sounds like a massive undertaking that could genuinely make a difference for countless New Yorkers struggling with housing costs. Mayor Mamdani’s office confirmed that President Trump was “enthusiastic” about the whole idea.
Mayor Mamdani, who just took office last month, ran on a platform heavily focused on affordability, with building more housing being a cornerstone of his plan. President Trump, of course, first made his name through real estate ventures in New York. We’re now seeing these two New Yorkers, despite having wildly different political views on so many issues, find common ground on something as crucial as housing and affordability. They’ve both expressed a clear willingness to collaborate when their interests align.
This visit to Washington marks Mayor Mamdani’s second meeting with President Trump since his election in November. It’s clear he’s not wasting any time trying to make things happen. Beyond housing, Mayor Mamdani also used the meeting to ask President Trump if Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers could release a Columbia University student who had been detained earlier that morning.
Later in the day, Mayor Mamdani updated everyone on X, saying President Trump called him to confirm that “she will be released imminently.”
Published: Feb 27, 2026 01:00 pm