I had a productive meeting with President Trump this afternoon.
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) February 26, 2026
I’m looking forward to building more housing in New York City. pic.twitter.com/XnPbt0KXYU
The meeting was not previously announced in the president's schedule or by Mamdani, who became the city's mayor last month. It comes the same day the Department of Homeland Security officials detained a Columbia University student.
Mamdani touted the meeting as "productive," and a photo of him with the president saw Trump holding two printouts of New York Daily News front pages, one real and one fake, that were provided by Mamdani. The fake printout attempted to show Trump was favorable to providing more housing in New York City, according to the New York Times.
The mayor said the pair also talked about the Columbia student who was detained by DHS, claiming the president said in a separate phone call that the Columbia student will be released "imminently."
Just got off the phone with President Trump.
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) February 26, 2026
In our meeting earlier, I shared my concerns about Columbia student Elmina Aghayeva, who was detained by ICE this morning.
He has just informed me that she will be released imminently. https://t.co/rvmTWpq83r
Columbia officials and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal claimed the immigration enforcement agents had made "misrepresentations" about themselves in order to get into a building on campus, including by allegedly claiming they were searching for a missing person.
The school emphasized that law enforcement officers are required to produce a judicial warrant or judicial subpoena to access non-public areas of the university, including housing and classrooms.
