New York, Sep 22 (IANS) Donald Trump made an unusual visit for a sitting president to the official residence of the city’s mayor for a meeting with Zohran Mamdani.
The visit, marked by bonhomie, came as a surprise on Monday because Mamdani is a Democratic Socialist, while Trump has made attacks on socialists a running theme of his campaign for Republican candidates in the midterm elections.
And Mamdani had called Trump a “fascist”.
It was Trump’s first appointment in the city after he arrived there for the United Nations high-level week.
After their meeting, Trump praised Mamdani, saying he was “off to a good start” and was “going to be a great” mayor.
The populists from the two ends of the political spectrum appear to have hit it off despite their ideological differences and their belligerent bases, and this was the first time in 44 years a president has visited the city’s mayor at his residence.
They appeared to have bonded over their interest in building structures.
Mamdani has proposed a massive housing complex with 12,000 housing units built on top of a rail yard.
“What we’re talking about is something very rare in our city; it’s the possibility of constructing an entirely new neighbourhood,” Mamdani said at their news conference.
He said it would require federal assistance.
Recognising the nationwide housing shortage, Trump has proposed plans to ameliorate it.
Mamdani said that he aired his opposition to Trump’s policies, including the immigration crackdown and the withdrawal of temporary immigration status given to people from countries in turmoil like Haiti.
“I shared my very strong opinions about how we can keep New Yorkers safe, how we can keep immigrant New Yorkers safe”, Mamdani said.
Trump said Mamdani felt “very strongly” about the issue.
Despite their differences, Trump, a native New Yorker, said he had seen “numerous different mayors … some great ones and some not so great ones”.
“I’ll be able to say you’re going to be a great one, and you’re off to a start”, he said.
A reporter asked Mamdani about Trump banning reporters from CNN and MS Now networks, and Politico news outlet.
He said, “I told the president that we’re going to have all of the members of the press here on the lawn and that is something that I believe in.”
Pointing to the presence of the media, Trump said, “It’s interesting ’cause they said they were gonna boycott me, but they never boycott me. So, I wasn’t very worried about that. Look at all that press”.
He accused the media of propagating “fake news” and said he had an “obligation” to keep them out.
Mamdani and Trump had earlier met in February at the White House, which was also marked by surprising friendliness.
According to Politico, true to his socialist roots, Mamdani was scheduled to meet Bernie Sanders, the leftist senator and vehement critic of Trump, who has been like a mentor to him.
The mayor’s 15-room residence set on 4.5 hectares along the East River is officially known as Gracie Mansion.
Trump, who has an eye for decor and architecture, called it “a beautiful place” and had said earlier on Truth Social that he had visited the mansion several times before becoming president.
–IANS
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