Chicago – February 26, 2026
President Donald Trump met Thursday with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at the White House to discuss major new federal investments in housing for the nation’s largest city.
In a bid to capture Trump’s attention, Mamdani arrived with a mock New York Daily News front page, illustrating how a sweeping housing initiative might be received by the public. The faux headline — “Trump to City: Let’s Build” — echoed the iconic 1975 cover “Ford to City: Drop Dead,” underscoring how dramatically federal support for New York could shift under a new plan.
Mamdani later posted a photo of the Oval Office sit-down featuring the mock front page, while his office declined to release further details of the proposal. Trump was described as “very enthusiastic” about the ideas, after previously urging Mamdani in November to return with concepts for “big projects” in New York City.
