Former President Barack Obama met with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for the first time on Saturday, where they read to preschoolers and led a sing-along at a child care center.
The meeting comes as Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is also trying to build a working relationship with Republican President Trump. The meeting comes just over a week after Mamdani marked his 100th day in office.
Obama and Mamdani did not take questions after reading the book “Alone and Together” to the children, and leading a sing-along of “The Wheels on the Bus.”
The two leaders discussed the mayor’s vision for New York City and the importance of early childhood education, according to a news release from the mayor’s office.
“Great spending time with New York City’s Cutest,” Obama said in a post on X. “And thanks to @NYCMayor for giving me an excuse to break out my best ‘Wheels on the Bus.'”
The former two-term president and standard-bearer for the Democratic Party has offered to be a sounding board for Mamdani, 34, whose star power, youth and progressive agenda has made him stand out in Democratic politics.
Mamdani took office in January after a campaign centered on making New York City a more affordable place to live, centering his agenda on refocusing the vast power of government toward helping the city’s struggling working class.
Days before the election in November, Obama and Mamdani spoke over the phone as some other major Democrats took a cautious political approach when it came to the democratic socialist.
Mamdani’s meeting with Obama comes after he has already met twice with President Trump at the White House in November and February to discuss issues affecting New York City.
Despite those friendly meetings, their relationship has shown signs of strain recently, with Mr. Trump posting on Truth Social Thursday that Mamdani was “DESTROYING New York” with his taxing policies and threatened to pull federal funding for the city.
Mamdani told “CBS Mornings” this week that he and Mr. Trump “are in touch” and are “honest, direct about the fact that we have many disagreements.”
“There is one place of agreement that we have, which is that we both love New York City,” Mamdani told “CBS Mornings.”
