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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday said NYC welcomed all members of the media for a joint meeting with President Donald Trump, who recently banned certain media outlets from the White House.
The remarks came during a press conference at Gracie Mansion, where a reporter asked Mamdani whether he had challenged Trump on his decision to bar CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.
“I told the president that we’re going to have all of the members of the press here on the lawn. And that is something that I believe in, as everyone, no matter the opinion or the critique that we engage in,” Mamdani said.
Trump then took the stage, defending his decision and addressing the subsequent suspension of presidential pool coverage by the remaining television networks, which included FOX News Media, ABC News, CBS News, CNN and NBC News.
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President Donald Trump meets with NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani inside Gracie Mansion on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @NYCMayor)
“It’s interesting because they said they were going to boycott me, but they never boycott me. So I wasn’t very worried about that. Look at all that press,” Trump said.
He then explained why he chose to engage with the outlets at Gracie Mansion despite what he described as their failure to fairly cover his accomplishments, including winning the election, settling wars and improving economic numbers.
“I’m only doing it because I think the press also has an obligation,” he said.
“We have the best economic numbers for the country in the history of our country. We have $21 trillion pouring in, the biggest number ever… Nobody’s ever done what we’ve done,” he added.
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Trump then argued that allowing certain media outlets into the White House would be harmful to national security, accusing them of reporting what he called “fake news.”
“I never get anything positive. It’s always negative, even having to do with the war. We’ve done so well,” he said, referring to Iran.
“You would think that an outlet would write at least reasonably well, but never. If you look at CNN, it’s fake news,” he added.
FILE — White House television pool members FOX News Media, ABC News, CBS News, CNN and NBC News announced Monday they have agreed to suspend their pooled coverage of President Donald Trump. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
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“They’re very bad for the country, very bad for national security. So I have that obligation. So we’ll see how it works out,” he said.