How the Theatrics of Mamdani’s Trump Meeting Backfired
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/ March 5, 2026
How the Theatrics of Mamdani’s Trump Meeting Backfired
By pandering to the president’s vanity, the New York mayor reinforced Trump’s image as a strongman commanding deference—an especially bad look on the eve of Trump’s war with Iran
D.D. Guttenplan
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani makes a strongman happy.
(Image via )
It probably seemed like a good idea at the time.
At just before 11 pm last Wednesday, the press release issued by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office advising the city’s media of the mayor’s plans for the following day was uncharacteristically brief: “Mayor Mamdani has no public events.” Although true, that statement was also intentionally misleading.
Wearing a dark hat and a mask to hide his face, the mayor boarded a flight to Washington, where—we now know—he met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. At their previous meeting, shortly after Mamdani’s election victory in November, the unexpectedly cordial rapport between the democratic socialist mayor and the MAGA president generated headlines around the world. During that introductory confab, Trump invited Mamdani to return “with ideas of big things” they could build together. At the top of Mamdani’s agenda last week was just such a proposal: that Trump provide federal aid to revive a long-shelved plan, developed during the de Blasio administration, to build 12,000 affordable apartments over the massive 180-acre Sunnyside Yard railroad junction and maintenance facility in Queens.
Catering—or, as some might say, pandering—to his audience, Mamdani came bearing the gift of two Daily News front pages: the famous (and genuine) “Ford to City: Drop Dead” from the city’s 1975 fiscal crisis and a (fake) mock-up bearing the heroic headline: “Trump to City: Let’s Build.” This actual specimen of fake news celebrated the president for backing a “new era of housing.” Thanks in part to the secrecy surrounding the meeting, and to Trump’s good-natured willingness to pose holding up both front pages behind the Resolute Desk, the photo commemorating the meeting soon went viral (the mayor’s tweet of the event garnered 28.5 million views).
Current Issue
March 2026 Issue
The news that, during the meeting, Mamdani had also intervened on behalf of Columbia senior Ellie Aghayeva, who had been seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at her university-owned apartment earlier that morning, seemed designed to neutralize criticism of the mayor for cozying up to the president—especially when, in response to Mamdani’s urging, Aghayeva was released from custody by the end of the day. …
The headline tells the story.
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How the Theatrics of Mamdani’s Trump Meeting Backfired
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Current Issue
Politics
/ March 5, 2026
How the Theatrics of Mamdani’s Trump Meeting Backfired
By pandering to the president’s vanity, the New York mayor reinforced Trump’s image as a strongman commanding deference—an especially bad look on the eve of Trump’s war with Iran
D.D. Guttenplan
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani makes a strongman happy.
(Image via )
It probably seemed like a good idea at the time.
At just before 11 pm last Wednesday, the press release issued by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office advising the city’s media of the mayor’s plans for the following day was uncharacteristically brief: “Mayor Mamdani has no public events.” Although true, that statement was also intentionally misleading.
Wearing a dark hat and a mask to hide his face, the mayor boarded a flight to Washington, where—we now know—he met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. At their previous meeting, shortly after Mamdani’s election victory in November, the unexpectedly cordial rapport between the democratic socialist mayor and the MAGA president generated headlines around the world. During that introductory confab, Trump invited Mamdani to return “with ideas of big things” they could build together. At the top of Mamdani’s agenda last week was just such a proposal: that Trump provide federal aid to revive a long-shelved plan, developed during the de Blasio administration, to build 12,000 affordable apartments over the massive 180-acre Sunnyside Yard railroad junction and maintenance facility in Queens.
Catering—or, as some might say, pandering—to his audience, Mamdani came bearing the gift of two Daily News front pages: the famous (and genuine) “Ford to City: Drop Dead” from the city’s 1975 fiscal crisis and a (fake) mock-up bearing the heroic headline: “Trump to City: Let’s Build.” This actual specimen of fake news celebrated the president for backing a “new era of housing.” Thanks in part to the secrecy surrounding the meeting, and to Trump’s good-natured willingness to pose holding up both front pages behind the Resolute Desk, the photo commemorating the meeting soon went viral (the mayor’s tweet of the event garnered 28.5 million views).
Current Issue
March 2026 Issue
The news that, during the meeting, Mamdani had also intervened on behalf of Columbia senior Ellie Aghayeva, who had been seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at her university-owned apartment earlier that morning, seemed designed to neutralize criticism of the mayor for cozying up to the president—especially when, in response to Mamdani’s urging, Aghayeva was released from custody by the end of the day. …
How the Theatrics of Mamdani’s Trump Meeting Backfired
The headline tells the story.
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How the Theatrics of Mamdani’s Trump Meeting Backfired
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Current Issue
Politics
/ March 5, 2026
How the Theatrics of Mamdani’s Trump Meeting Backfired
By pandering to the president’s vanity, the New York mayor reinforced Trump’s image as a strongman commanding deference—an especially bad look on the eve of Trump’s war with Iran
D.D. Guttenplan
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani makes a strongman happy.
(Image via )
It probably seemed like a good idea at the time.
At just before 11 pm last Wednesday, the press release issued by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office advising the city’s media of the mayor’s plans for the following day was uncharacteristically brief: “Mayor Mamdani has no public events.” Although true, that statement was also intentionally misleading.
Wearing a dark hat and a mask to hide his face, the mayor boarded a flight to Washington, where—we now know—he met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. At their previous meeting, shortly after Mamdani’s election victory in November, the unexpectedly cordial rapport between the democratic socialist mayor and the MAGA president generated headlines around the world. During that introductory confab, Trump invited Mamdani to return “with ideas of big things” they could build together. At the top of Mamdani’s agenda last week was just such a proposal: that Trump provide federal aid to revive a long-shelved plan, developed during the de Blasio administration, to build 12,000 affordable apartments over the massive 180-acre Sunnyside Yard railroad junction and maintenance facility in Queens.
Catering—or, as some might say, pandering—to his audience, Mamdani came bearing the gift of two Daily News front pages: the famous (and genuine) “Ford to City: Drop Dead” from the city’s 1975 fiscal crisis and a (fake) mock-up bearing the heroic headline: “Trump to City: Let’s Build.” This actual specimen of fake news celebrated the president for backing a “new era of housing.” Thanks in part to the secrecy surrounding the meeting, and to Trump’s good-natured willingness to pose holding up both front pages behind the Resolute Desk, the photo commemorating the meeting soon went viral (the mayor’s tweet of the event garnered 28.5 million views).
Current Issue
March 2026 Issue
The news that, during the meeting, Mamdani had also intervened on behalf of Columbia senior Ellie Aghayeva, who had been seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at her university-owned apartment earlier that morning, seemed designed to neutralize criticism of the mayor for cozying up to the president—especially when, in response to Mamdani’s urging, Aghayeva was released from custody by the end of the day. …
