Mamdani meets Trump in White House for second time, pitches housing plans with mock newspaper

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani presented U.S. President Donald Trump with a mock newspaper front page during a visit to the White House on Thursday (February 27, 2026) to discuss massive new housing investments in the city.

It’s a tactic designed to appeal to Mr. Trump, who is keenly aware of his media coverage and, aside from being an avid viewer of cable news, is known to voraciously consume coverage in the local New York City publications. The Republican president and Democratic mayor have maintained a cordial relationship since their first meeting last fall.

Anna Bahr, Mamdani’s communications director, said the mayor’s team created a mock front page and headlines for Trump to look at and demonstrate what kind of reaction new federal housing investments could bring. The mock New York Daily News front page says “Trump to City: Let’s Build” — a riff on the famous 1975 cover that read “Ford to City: Drop Dead,” referring to Gerald Ford’s vow to veto financial assistance to the city.

The mayor posted the photo of their meeting, featuring the front pages, to his social media page.

Ms. Bahr said Mr. Trump was “very enthusiastic” about Mr. Mamdani’s proposal, which would allow 12,000 new affordable homes to be built at Sunnyside Yard in Queens by securing more than $21 billion in federal grants to build a deck over the rail yard site. The mayor’s office estimates that the project could create 30,000 jobs and would be the biggest housing and infrastructure investment in more than 50 years.

When Mr. Trump and Mr. Mamdani last met in November, the president encouraged Mr. Mamdani to return to him with an idea to build big things together in New York City, Ms. Bahr said.

Though Mr. Trump repeatedly maligned Mr. Mamdani as a “communist” as he ran for New York City mayor, the president appeared charmed by him after their one-on-one meeting at the White House in November.

Ellie Aghayeva’s ICE detention

At the meeting on Thursday — which was previously unannounced and lasted for about an hour — Mr. Mamdani also brought up the detainment of Ellie Aghayeva, a Columbia University student from Azerbaijan who was arrested earlier on Thursday by federal immigration agents.

The agents had accessed a campus residence by claiming they were searching for a “missing person,” according to Ms. Aghayeva’s attorneys and Columbia’s president. As he met with Mr. Trump, Mr. Mamdani urged Mr. Trump to consider releasing her.

In a phone call not long after their White House meeting, Mr. Trump told the mayor that Ms. Aghayeva would be released.

Ms. Aghayeva later confirmed her release in a post on Instagram. “I just got out a little while ago. I am safe and okay,” she wrote.

Mr. Mamdani also gave White House chief of staff Susie Wiles a list of four other students targeted by federal authorities and asked for the administration’s help with them.

The four students are Mahmoud Khalil, Yunseo Chung, Mohsen Mahdawi and Leqaa Kordia, who were all detained for their roles in pro-Palestinian protests. Of the four, only Ms. Kordia remains in custody, although all cases are proceeding through the courts.

“Mayor Mamdani is absolutely right to call on President Trump to release Leqaa Kordia, the beloved daughter of an American citizen,” Hamzah Abushaban, Kordia’s cousin, said in a statement.

“For nearly a year, my cousin Leqaa has been locked away in ICE detention, robbed of precious birthdays, holidays, and irreplaceable moments with her family. She has endured fear, isolation, and even suffered a seizure while trapped behind those walls. This is not justice. This is not humanity.”