ADD REMARKS BY MAMDANI
By Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday that he had a “productive” meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss plans for expanding housing in the city.
"I had a productive meeting with President Trump this afternoon. I’m looking forward to building more housing in New York City," Mamdani said on US social media company X.
The sit-down marks Mamdani's second meeting with Trump since his election victory in November.
During Tuesday’s State of the Union address, Trump called Mamdani a "nice guy," despite his "communist" policies.
"Even the new communist mayor of New York City -- I think he's a nice guy, actually, speaking to him a lot. Bad policy, but nice guy," Trump said.
In a separate post, Mamdani said he had a phone call with Trump over a student who was detained earlier Thursday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who entered a residential building at Columbia University.
"Just got off the phone with President Trump. In our meeting earlier, I shared my concerns about Columbia student Elaina Aghayeva, who was detained by ICE this morning," Mamdani said.
The mayor also said Trump informed him that Aghayeva will be released "imminently."