In a wide-ranging interview on “Inside City Hall” on Tuesday night, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said he has been back in touch with President Donald Trump since their almost chummy meeting in the White House last month.

“I’ve spoken briefly with the president since then, and I’ve always kept it a conversation that’s focused on the welfare of New Yorkers,” Mamdani said. “The fact that New Yorkers are still struggling under a cost of living crisis, even though it’s been a few years since it was the focus of national headlines.”

 

Mamdani said he also expressed condolences regarding the attack on two National Guardsmen that led to one losing her life.

“It was a conversation where I both communicated my condolences about the multiple national guardsmen who were attacked and the one who later lost her life to that horrific attack and focusing on what we can do to actually build more housing here in New York,” he said.

Mamdani said that although the conversation happened after last weekend’s federal immigration raids on Canal Street, he promised he would continue to protest ICE’s actions once he’s mayor.

“I’ve said, even to the president directly, that these raids are cruel and inhumane,” he said.

Highlighting concern over the separation of a Chinese immigrant father and his six-year-old son, Mamdani revealed: “His son went to an elementary school in my district in Astoria, and we still don’t know where they are.”

Meanwhile, Mamdani and outgoing Mayor Eric Adams met Tuesday in person for the first time since the election to discuss the transition of power.

“It was for a little over an hour, and it focused on a smooth transition for New Yorkers,” he said.

The mayor-elect said he is still considering keeping some Adams officials, like city Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos.

“I appreciate the work that she’s done and, like everyone within the Adams administration, I will assess her and everyone else on the basis of the work they have done, not on the basis of the fact of who appointed them,” he said.

The mayor-elect said his team is still figuring out the details as to where his Jan. 1 Inauguration Day ceremony will be but promised to include everyday New Yorkers in the proceedings.

As his team sorts through roughly 70,000 resumes submitted for consideration for posts at City Hall, Mamdani is also deciding whether he will live in taxpayer-funded Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side.

“You sound like my landlord!” Mamdani joked. He currently lives in a rent-stabilized unit in Astoria, Queens.

“I am not yet at a decision point, but I did appreciate having it at Gracie, and I’ve been there a few times visiting both Mayor Adams but also Mayor de Blasio,” he added.

So far, he’s been playing nice with Gov. Kathy Hochul but said he opposes her decision to greenlight a natural gas pipeline through the outer boroughs.

“I think I’ll always make my thoughts clear as I have done now and will continue to do so, and I look forward to the working relationship that I have with the governor, which is one that is focused on the affordability crisis and how to deliver for New Yorkers,” he said. “I’m on the record opposing any new fossil fuel construction, and it’s part of a commitment to taking on the climate crisis,” he added.