Trump and NYC Mayor Mamdani to meet at Gracie Mansion Monday

Josephine Stratman and John Annese, New York Daily News on Sep 20, 2026

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Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump plan to meet in Gracie Mansion Monday, as world leaders gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly — marking the latest episode in the unusually friendly odd-couple relationship between the two polar-opposite pols.

City Hall confirmed the meeting Sunday, saying in a statement, “The meeting will focus on issues affecting New York City and New Yorkers.”

After Mamdani’s primary win last June, the president blasted him as a “100% Communist Lunatic” in a Truth Social post. But since Mamdani took office, the two men have mostly publicly gotten along.

Mamdani met the Queens-born Trump in the White House for a more than hour-long sitdown a few weeks after the mayor’s 2025 election win.

“I’ll be cheering for him,” Trump said.

Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist who has accused Trump of fascist leanings, suggested in their meeting they could recreate what President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia did in implementing New Deal reforms in the city in the 1930s.

“Thinking about what it can look like when the federal government and New York City government work together to deliver on affordability, it can be transformative,” Mamdani said at the time.

Observers have mused about what some have deemed their “bromance,” even as Mamdani has blasted hardline immigration crackdowns by ICE and policies like the Trump administration’s pause on federal child care and family assistance grants.

“I speak to him a lot,” the president said at this year’s State of the Union address. “Bad policy, but nice guy.”

In February, Mamdani presented Trump with a charm-offensive pitch to build 12,000 housing units in New York City at a White House sit-down, posing with a grinning Trump as he clutched a mock Daily News front page given to him by the mayor.

The paper, which read, “Trump to City: Let’s Build,” was a play on The News’ iconic “Ford to City: Drop Dead” front page from 1975.

Despite the chumminess, Mamdani and Trump have clashed on policy, with the mayor last week suing the White House, along with Attorney General Tish James, to block the administration’s plan to put green cards out of reach for immigrants who use public benefits.

Trump will be in town for the this year’s United Nations General Assembly, and NYPD officers will flood midtown Manhattan to respond to protests and protect the public and controversial world leaders scheduled to attend, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Beginning next week, New Yorkers should expect rolling road closures and “frozen zones” that limit pedestrian and vehicle traffic around the U.N. at 46th St. and First Ave. Transportation in the skies above and ferry service along the East River will also be limited.

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