Washington buzzed with surprise as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a vocal Democratic socialist, unexpectedly met President Donald Trump at the White House. Far from any scheduled public event, this closed-door session bridged a chasm of recent bitter disputes over policy and ideology.
Emerging optimistic, Mamdani called it a ‘productive dialogue,’ zeroing in on ambitious plans to supercharge housing development in NYC. City Hall’s Anna Bahr revealed the mayor floated ideas promising housing output exceeding 50 years of prior construction in targeted developments— though specifics on scale, sites, or budgets are not yet public.
Immigration stole the spotlight when Mamdani intervened in the case of Columbia student Elaina Aghayeva. In an X post, he shared: ‘Follow-up from our chat: I flagged the ICE detention of Columbia’s Elaina Aghayeva this morning. Update: release imminent.’ She was indeed let go hours later.
The dramatic arrest unfolded pre-dawn at her Manhattan dorm, where ICE agents allegedly misrepresented their purpose as a missing person search to gain access, per university leaders. Interim head Claire Shipman condemned the ploy and instructed staff to bar entry to private zones without public safety coordination and valid legal documents.
DHS pushed back, noting Aghayeva’s 2016 visa cancellation for skipping classes, absent any active legal challenges. Her building supervisor and roommate had consented to the entry.
Against a backdrop of Trump’s sharp critiques of blue-city governance— especially on borders and federal aid— this meeting hints at thawing relations. The pair has now convened in the Oval Office more than once, despite election-season fireworks. New York, hooked on federal dollars and immigration flashpoints, finds Columbia repeatedly entangled in federal-campus clashes.
No White House readout has surfaced, fueling speculation on whether housing wins or immigration mercies presage deeper alliances.