Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s mayor-elect, arranged a meeting with President Trump to press for policies that ease the city’s high cost of living and to defend immigrant protections. He emphasized affordability as his primary focus and described how his campaign reached voters across political lines. Mamdani warned that federal enforcement actions are already affecting residents and pledged to defend the city’s sanctuary policies and its three million immigrants.
Mamdani to Meet Trump in Oval Office — Vows to Defend New Yorkers on Affordability and Immigrant Protections
Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s mayor-elect, arranged a meeting with President Trump to press for policies that ease the city’s high cost of living and to defend immigrant protections. He emphasized affordability as his primary focus and described how his campaign reached voters across political lines. Mamdani warned that federal enforcement actions are already affecting residents and pledged to defend the city’s sanctuary policies and its three million immigrants.
04:16 AM, 11/21/2025Politics
New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said he will meet President Donald Trump in the Oval Office after arranging the encounter to press the White House on issues that directly affect the city’s 8.5 million residents. Speaking with MSNBC host Chris Hayes on "All In," Mamdani emphasized that affordability and protections for immigrant New Yorkers will be central to the discussion.
Meeting with the President
Mamdani, a democratic socialist who will take office in January, said his team requested the meeting after he told reporters he had reached out to the White House. President Trump confirmed the meeting on Truth Social and said it would take place in the Oval Office on Friday.
Focus on Cost of Living
"I would be willing to meet with anyone and everyone, so long as it was to the benefit of 8.5 million people who call this city home and their struggle to afford the most expensive city in the United States of America," Mamdani said. He told Hayes his goal is to "speak plainly" about how New Yorkers are struggling with housing and other cost-of-living pressures, which he said shaped his campaign and outreach strategy.
Reaching Across Political Lines
During the campaign, Mamdani said he deliberately reached out to voters who had supported President Trump in 2024 to broaden his coalition. "Cost of living is something that I heard time and time again from New Yorkers about why they voted for Donald Trump," he said. By listening instead of lecturing, Mamdani said his campaign won support from a range of residents — even noting a rally attendee wearing a "MAGA [for] Mamdani" hat as an example of unexpected crossover appeal.
Immigrant Protections and Federal Enforcement
One likely subject at the White House meeting is Trump’s repeated proposal to deploy federal agents to New York City. Mamdani warned that aspects of federal enforcement are already being felt locally, even without a formal order. He described a meeting with a young woman who tearfully recounted repeated attempts by ICE officers to detain her aunt — visits at the family’s door and at a school drop-off that left the relative afraid to leave home.
Mamdani criticized current Mayor Eric Adams for what he called an "unwillingness to stand up for the laws we already have here." He defended New York’s sanctuary policies, which bar ICE from accessing schools, hospitals and other city properties without a judicial warrant, and said the city needs a mayor who recognizes and counters present risks to immigrant communities.
Commitment to Immigrant New Yorkers
"I’m one of them," Mamdani said of his own immigrant background, pledging to "stand up for each and every one of the three million immigrants who call this city home." He framed any attack on one New Yorker as an attack on the whole city and signaled a pragmatic but firm approach: engage directly with the president on affordability while preparing to defend local immigrant protections against federal enforcement efforts.
Note: The mayor-elect's full interview with Chris Hayes is available in the broadcast clip referenced by the conversation.