Mamdani's 'insultingly easy' flattery tactic heralded as 'shortcut' to manipulating Trump

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani seems well positioned to win President Donald Trump’s support for tens of billions of dollars in federal housing grants, a breakthrough observers say he achieved through what one called an “insultingly easy” use of flattery.

Mamdani had his second meeting with Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday, during which he asked the president to approve $21 billion in federal grants to support a housing project that would see the construction of 12,000 price-controlled apartment units, Politico reported.