WASHINGTON, United States — President Donald Trump met with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday in an unannounced visit to the White House, where the two leaders discussed housing and other issues affecting the city.
Mamdani described the meeting as productive in a post on X, writing on Thursday, February 26, 2026, “I had a productive meeting with President Trump this afternoon.”
He shared a photograph of himself standing beside Trump in the Oval Office.
In the image, the president is holding what appeared to be a mock-up of a Daily News front page with the headline: “Trump to City: Let’s Rebuild.”
Mamdani added in the post that he was “looking forward to building more housing in New York City.”
Discussion of Immigration Detention
Later on Thursday, Mamdani said he had also spoken with Trump by telephone about a Columbia University student who had been detained that morning by federal immigration agents.
“In our meeting earlier, I shared my concerns about Columbia student Elaina Aghayeva, who was detained by ICE this morning,” Mamdani wrote on X.
“He has just informed me that she will be released imminently.”
The student subsequently posted on social media that she had been released. CNN reported that it had reached out to the White House for comment.
University officials had said that federal agents used deception to gain access to a residential building on campus before detaining the student.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not publicly detailed the circumstances of the arrest.
Housing and Prior Engagements
The meeting took place days after Trump referred to Mamdani during his State of the Union address, calling him a “nice guy.”
At a press conference on Wednesday, Mamdani said that his conversations with the president typically focused on advancing the city’s interests.
Two people familiar with the plans said earlier on Thursday that the leaders were expected to discuss housing, an issue that also featured prominently in their last White House meeting in November.
The New York Post first reported that Mamdani was travelling to Washington.
During their previous meeting, Trump publicly praised Mamdani and discussed topics including real estate development, zoning regulations and electricity rates.
The president had previously criticised Mamdani during the mayoral campaign but later described areas of shared interest in urban development.
Thursday’s encounter marked another instance of cooperation between the Republican president and the Democratic mayor on issues central to New York City’s economy and infrastructure.
