New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani emerged from another meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday having secured praise, continued housing discussions, and a clear demonstration of how to engage a political adversary without abandoning core disagreements.

Trump, meanwhile, could barely contain his enthusiasm for a mayor who has become his ideological nemesis. During their press conference, the president once again publicly talked up Mamdani’s prospects at City Hall.

“I’ve seen it with numerous different mayors, and I said some great ones and some not-so-great ones, so hopefully you’re going to be a great one,” Trump said during the press conference. “I’ll be able to say you’re going to be a great one, and you’re off to a start.”

The praise offered a striking backdrop as Mamdani fielded questions about why he had met with Trump. A reporter attempted to compare the meeting with a recent encounter between House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Trump’s son in law, Jared Kushner.

Mamdani did not get pulled into the comparison. Instead, he focused on what his conversation with Trump could deliver for New York City, pointing specifically to housing and employment connected to Sunnyside Yard.

“One of the focuses of the conversation that the president and I have been having is about the possibility of building more housing here in New York City,” Mamdani said. He then described an agreement to deepen discussions between the two governments.

“We’ve spoken about Sunnyside Yard, and it’s a real pleasure that just today we’ve agreed to set up a new level of that conversation between our housing and operations team at City Hall and the White House team, because what we’re speaking about is 12,000 homes, 30,000 jobs.”

That answer showcased Mamdani’s political approach. Rather than treating the meeting itself as the achievement, he identified the concrete issues under discussion and the potential benefits for the city he leads.

The mayor also faced questions about Trump’s escalation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity. Mamdani has publicly criticized that activity, and he acknowledged that serious disagreements remain between him and the president.

Still, Mamdani pointed to an outcome from their previous meeting involving students whose cases he had raised with Trump. According to Mamdani, Trump contacted him shortly after that conversation and said one of those students would be released.

“Thirty minutes after the last meeting, he called me to let me know that the list of students that we had put forward to him, that he was going to release one of them. Soon after that, he released another one of them,” Mamdani said.

The mayor presented those releases as a reason to keep talking even while remaining candid about the administration’s immigration actions. His argument was not that the disagreements had vanished, but that engagement could still produce meaningful results for people facing detention.

“Frankly, if a meeting can be the difference between detention and dignity, it’s a meeting worth taking—all while being honest about the disagreements that we do have,” Mamdani continued.

That framing allowed Mamdani to defend the value of the meeting without offering Trump political submission or pretending their differences were minor. It also kept attention on the New Yorkers whose release followed the mayor’s direct appeal.

Trump closed the press conference by returning to his unusually warm assessment of Mamdani. The president again made clear that he sees considerable promise in the New York City mayor.

“I want him to be a great mayor, and he’s certainly got potential—got great potential,” Trump concluded.

For Mamdani, the appearance produced another round of presidential praise while advancing conversations about 12,000 homes and 30,000 jobs. It also gave him an opportunity to explain how a previous meeting was followed by the release of two students from a list he had presented.

Trump simply cannot seem to help himself around Mamdani. Whether the mayor’s disarming charisma is responsible or Trump is merely relieved to spend time with someone succeeding at his job, Mamdani once again left the encounter looking like the sharper politician.