Zohran Mamdani Seeks White House Meeting To 'Make The Case' On Affordability Crisis, As Trump Wants Things To 'Work Out Well' For NYC

Zohran Mamdani has contacted the White House to request a meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss the city's growing affordability crisis, the New York City Mayor-elect said on Monday.

Mamdani Considers Relation With White House ‘Critical’

At a press conference held at a Bronx food pantry, Mamdani said his team had contacted the White House to follow through on a campaign promise he made to New Yorkers.

Mamdani said they were seeing the actions of the president and his administration in Washington leading to "the exact opposite effect" for New Yorkers, and that he would go to "make the case" to the president and to anyone that these were "the kinds of things we need to change" if the goal was to make it easier for New Yorkers and Americans to afford "the day-to-day necessities of their life."

Mamdani told NBC New York in an interview last week that he would be "reaching out to the White House" as he prepares to take office, noting that the relationship will be “critical” to the city's success.

Trump, on the other hand, on Sunday has expressed his willingness to meet with Mamdani. “He would like to come to Washington and meet. We want to see everything work out well for New York,” Trump said.

The White House has not yet responded to Benzinga‘s queries about the specifics of the proposed meeting. 

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Previous Trump-Mamdani Face-Offs

Mamdani’s move to engage with the Trump administration is a significant shift from the confrontational stance he had initially taken and months of rhetoric between the two. Following his election, Mamdani had vowed to defend the city’s agenda even as Washington pushed back. The mayor-elect even challenged Trump in his victory speech.

Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly labeled Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, as a "communist." He also wrote on Truth Social that Mamdani’s win would be a “disaster” for New York City and cautioned that it would be "highly unlikely" that he would provide federal funding beyond the minimum required.

Affordability Crisis Brewing

Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman has argued that Trump’s policies are making America less affordable, contradicting the president’s economic promises. The proposed meeting between Mamdani and Trump could be a crucial step towards addressing these issues.

Trump’s recent rollback of tariffs on several agricultural imports came amid mounting pressure over rising prices. This move could be a response to losing key elections centered around the cost-of-living crisis.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.