Lip reader reveals Trump told Mamdani 'we'll look after you' and invited him to the White House

From the Newshound archive · first published 22 September 2026 · last updated 23 September 2026.

Lip readers hired to analyse footage of Monday's 90-minute meeting between President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Gracie Mansion have decoded a string of warm private exchanges the pair tried to keep away from reporters. Trump was heard telling the democratic socialist 'I'll look after you, you look after the New Yorkers' and 'I wanna support you, help me' before inviting him to the White House to 'see how I work'. The meeting — the first presidential visit to Gracie Mansion since Ronald Reagan in 1981 — centred on immigration and Mamdani's bid for federal funding for the Sunnyside Yards affordable housing project in Queens.

Trump, a lifelong coffee-avoider who runs on Diet Coke, also told Mamdani 'I do, I love a coffee' when the mayor offered him one.

Mamdani told reporters afterwards: 'We appreciate the president's commitment to the city.'

The unlikely friendship began at a White House Oval Office meeting in February, when Trump told reporters of the socialist mayor: 'I think he's a nice guy.'