New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday revealed what was on his mind during a viral moment when he stood stoically next to President Donald Trump as he railed against the media earlier this month.
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Late night host Jimmy Kimmel, who is taping his show in New York this week, praised Mamdani for “the discipline” he exhibited by not reacting as Trump attacked CNN, MS NOW and Politico after banning them from the White House:
Mamdani stares into the middle distance as Trump responds to a question about his ban on the free press by ranting about his economic record and how great his war in Iran is going pic.twitter.com/QMjvHkgAfB
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 21, 2026
“It really is remarkable,” Kimmel said. “I watch that and I go, ‘OK, this is not a guy I want to play poker with.’”
Mamdani not only defended the media during the exchange, but called on each of the news organizations that Trump had banned.
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Yet as Kimmel pointed out, it didn’t seem to bother Trump.
“He just seems to like you and that is it,” Kimmel said. “And that’s all that seems to matter, I guess.”
So what was on Mamdani’s mind as Trump attacked the press? Call it the art of the deal, as he has been working with Trump on a major real estate project.
“The number one thing that we’ve been speaking about recently has been Sunnyside Yard, which is this idea, for decades, of building a platform over a rail yard and then building 12,000 homes,” Mamdani said. “And so, in that moment, you know, that you zoomed in on, I’m just thinking about 12,000 homes, 30,000 jobs, largest housing development since the early 1970s.”
Kimmel offered Mamdani another suggestion that could help seal the deal.
“Have you considered calling it Trumpyside Yard?” he cracked.
“I haven’t,” Mamdani said.
Check out the full interview ― in which Kimmel also tries to get Mamdani to text Trump from the set of the show ― below:
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