Mamdani wooed the president with much property talk and showed the real ‘art of the deal’ might have been soft power via Photoshop

In the hours after Zohran Mamdani met with Donald Trump for an undisclosed sit-down in the Oval Office on Thursday, a meme quickly circulated on X.

It resembled the screengrab of a TikToker who doles out dubious financial advice, but instead had the mayor’s picture front and center. On the left it read “I receive 12,000 homes” and “the release of a constituent kidnapped by ICE” and on the right “you receive fake newspaper cover”.

It was a neat summary of two unexpected wins Mamdani seemed to clinch in Washington for little in return, as part of an unexpectedly congenial relationship that continues to grow between city hall and the White House. Mamdani’s office later confirmed the mayor pitched a proposal to secure $21bn in federal grants to make good on a central promise to create more citywide affordable housing. This would include the construction of a deck over the busy rail yard in Sunnyside, Queens to build 12,000 housing units. The president appeared “enthusiastic”, according to the mayor’s chief spokesperson.

  • dhork@lemmy.world
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    10 小时前

    No one becomes the Mayor of a town like New York without knowing how to deal with entitled narcissists. Mamdani has to deal with much more abrasive personalities than Donald Trump on a day-to-day basis.

    • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      6 小时前

      No one becomes the Mayor of a town like New York without knowing how to deal with entitled narcissists

      100% true.

      Mamdani has to deal with much more abrasive personalities than Donald Trump on a day-to-day basis.

      Literally not possible as no such people exist.

      • dhork@lemmy.world
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        5 小时前

        Literally not possible as no such people exist.

        Have you ever been to Manhattan? It’s chock full of them. Part of Trump’s deep-seated inferiority complex stems from the fact that the deal makers in Manhattan never fully recognized him as anything but a huckster and a fraud.

        • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          2 小时前

          I think you misunderstand.

          I’m not saying that Manhattan doesn’t have an overabundance of incredibly abrasive people.

          I’m saying that it’s not humanly possible to be “much more abrasive” than the Mango Mussolini himself.

    • Lasherz@lemmy.worldM
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      5 小时前

      He secured the release of multiple people from ICE detainment, bucked the relationship of Trump and Miller, mogged him in a bunch of photos and gave him nothing. Take the win.

    • Tempus Fugit@lemmy.world
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      6 小时前

      Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. I’d say it’s enough that this dude isn’t a liberal or a zionist.