Mamdani pitches Trump on housing, secures release of Columbia student

(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani secured the release of a Columbia student detained by ICE after a surprise meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, where he also urged the president to support a long-stalled housing project in his hometown.

At Thursday’s Oval Office meeting, which wasn’t announced in advance, Mamdani reportedly urged Trump to back the city’s plans to build 12,000 new affordable homes on the site of an old rail yard in Queens by securing more than $21 billion in federal grants.

To win over the president, Mamdani also gifted Trump a mock New York Daily News front page with stories praising the Queens native as a “hometown hero” for providing federal funding for the long-stalled housing project. The banner headline read: “Trump to City” Let’s Build. Backs New Era of Housing.”

The mayor also presented Trump with a copy of the Daily News’ famous Oct. 30, 1975 “FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD” front page, which lamented ...