President Trump visited Gracie Mansion on Monday for a meeting with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a day before Trump was scheduled to deliver a speech at the United Nations. The two held a joint press conference afterward that touched on housing, immigration policy and the president’s ongoing dispute with several news outlets.
The meeting came days after Trump announced he was barring CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House press briefings, saying it was “as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” Those outlets have since sued the White House on First Amendment grounds seeking to regain access, and other outlets in the rotating television pool, including ABC News and Fox News Media, said Monday they would suspend their participation in pooled coverage in solidarity.
Asked at the Gracie Mansion press conference whether he saw the press ban as authoritarian, Mamdani did not directly answer, and Trump responded at length instead.
It’s interesting because they said they were going to boycott me, but they never boycott me, so I wasn’t very worried about that. Look at all that press!
Trump went on to defend the decision, saying he believes news organizations have an obligation to report fairly and that he has an “obligation” to keep outlets he considers biased out of certain venues.
And I think that these outlets have an obligation to be fair, and if they’re fake news, I really think I have an obligation not to allow them into another very special house. This is a special house, Gracie Mansion. Well, the White House is the most special of all houses, I have to say.
He had made similar comments earlier in the day on Truth Social, writing that “FAKE NEWS IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY, and I will do whatever is necessary to make sure that the U.S.A. thrives.”
Cordial exchange on housing project
Despite their political differences, Trump was cordial toward Mamdani during the press conference, saying he hoped the mayor would succeed.
I certainly hope he will be a great Mayor. You have to understand — I want what’s good for New York. I want what’s good for the country… I want him to be a great Mayor.
The two also discussed the Sunnyside Yard project in Queens, a proposed development over a 190-acre railyard that could bring up to 12,000 new homes. Chiefs of staff for both the mayor and the president attended the meeting.
“We’ve agreed to set up a new level of that conversation between our housing and operations team at City Hall and the White House team,” Mamdani said.
Trump did not commit to full federal support for the project but acknowledged its long history. “It’s going to need a lot of federal approvals and probably some federal money to do it. But it’s always been a great location,” he said, adding that he had been watching discussions about developing the site for 35 years.
Disagreement over TPS revocation
The two leaders also discussed the administration’s decision to revoke Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from 13 countries, including Haiti. New York state is home to an estimated 40,000 Haitian TPS holders. In response to a question from The City Reporter, Trump said Mamdani had raised the issue “very strongly” during their meeting, but the president did not commit to reversing the revocation.
Trump said he also felt strongly about the issue, though from a different position: “I feel strongly about taking care of people! And that’s what we do, and we’re doing a good job of it!”
