Former President Barack Obama met with New York Mayor Zahran Mamdani for the first time Saturday at a child care center where they read to preschoolers and sang.
The meeting comes as Mamdani, a democratic socialist who celebrated his 100th day in office just over a week ago, tries to build a working relationship with Republican President Donald Trump.
Obama and Mamdani took no questions after reading the children’s book “Alone and Together” and singing the song “Wheels of the Bus.”
Former President Barack Obama, left, and Mayor Zahran Mamdani read a children’s book at Learning Through Play for pre-K in New York, Saturday, April 18, 2026.
AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis
The former two-term president and Democratic Party standard bearer has offered to serve as a sounding board for Mamdani, 34, whose stardom, youth and progressive agenda have made him stand out in Democratic politics.
Mamdani took office in January after a campaign focused on making New York City an affordable place to live, and his agenda centered on refocusing the government’s broad power toward helping the city’s struggling working class.
Mamdani met twice with Trump at the White House in November and February to discuss issues affecting New York.
Despite those friendly encounters, their relationship has shown signs of strain recently, with Trump posting on social media on Thursday that Mamdani is “ruining New York” with his tax policies and threatening to strip federal funding for the city.
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