US president Donald Trump hosted New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence, on Monday and praised a rival he once called ‘my little communist’: ‘Hopefully, you’re going to be a great mayor,’ Trump said at a press conference after about an hour of closed-door talks, according to AFP, the Hindustan Times and USA Today.

It was their third meeting since Mamdani’s election. The mayor said he raised the fate of Haitians who lost Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and now face deportation; Trump acknowledged the issue was raised and made no commitment. The two agreed to start technical talks between City Hall and the White House on federal funding for the 12,000-home project over the Sunnyside Yard rail depot in Queens, which Mamdani puts at more than $21bn in federal grants. Mamdani said he told Trump all press would be welcome at their joint appearance, on the same day major TV networks kept up their boycott of the president’s coverage.