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Trump leaves room to back a development plan after meeting Mamdani at Gracie Mansion
September 22, 2026
Trump and Mamdani meet at Gracie Mansion and discuss policing, immigration and housing, and Trump keeps open the prospect of backing a large development plan.
Zohran Mamdani is the mayor of New York City, and Gracie Mansion, in Manhattan, is the mayor's official residence. Donald Trump is the president and a native New Yorker.
Key facts
- Mamdani stood by in silence while Trump dismissed media operations as "fake news," defended keeping CNN, Politico and MS NOW off White House grounds, and called his narrow 2024 victory a landslide.
- Trump kept open the possibility of backing a large development plan that Mamdani supports, telling reporters at Gracie Mansion on Monday, "Maybe they have a shot at doing it."
- Trump serves as the Democratic Party's leading foil, and its leaders treat opposition to his immigration agenda and to the Iran war as the way to win back a chamber of Congress this fall.
- Mamdani told reporters that Trump recalled his earlier trips to Gracie Mansion while the two talked inside the mayoral home.
CNN reports that Trump kept alive the prospect of a massive development plan Mamdani backs, telling reporters at the joint news conference outside Gracie Mansion on Monday, "Maybe they have a shot at doing it." CNN also reports Mamdani's account of the private conversation, in which the president recalled earlier visits to the historic mayoral home. Axios reports that the rapport between the two men holds in New York, and Politico and The Hill report the same visit.
The New York Times reports that the invitation came from Mamdani, who brought Trump to his Manhattan residence for talks on policing, immigration and affordable housing. The Times also reports that the mayor stood silent and expressionless while Trump dismissed media operations as "fake news," defended keeping CNN, Politico and MS NOW off White House grounds, and called his narrow 2024 victory a landslide. The Hill reports Trump's praise for the mayor after the Gracie Mansion visit, crediting him with "great potential".
Politico reports the politics around the visit. Democratic leaders treat opposition to Trump's immigration agenda, and to the Iran war his administration is fighting, as their route to flipping a chamber of Congress this fall, with the president himself the party's most prominent foil. CNN, The New York Times, Politico and The Hill agree on the visit itself, on Mamdani's invitation, on the subjects the two men covered and on what Trump said outside the mansion. Trump's answer on the development plan stops short of a commitment.
Speaking outside Gracie Mansion, Trump said, "I have an obligation not to allow them into another very special house."
Trump
Still developing
The massive development plan Mamdani backed has an open door from Trump and no more than that at Monday's news conference outside Gracie Mansion.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- CNN — Mamdani hosts Trump in NYC, discusses midterms, Netanyahu in exclusive CNN interview | CNN Politics
- The New York Times — Trump and Mamdani Show Their Unlikely Rapport, This Time in New York - The New York Times
- politico.com — Mamdani, the Trump charmer - POLITICO
- The Hill — Donald Trump says Zohran Mamdani has ‘great potential’ after Gracie Mansion visit
- Axios — Trump and Mamdani's unlikely rapport endures in New York
Toggle read the full reports of 4 of the 5 outlets counted on this event. The other 1 are counted from their headlines and opening sentences.