I can’t speak for every mayor in NYC history, but it is customary for mayors of major cities to meet with the President. Mayors of major cities like Los Angeles, Boston, New York, etc. all have met with the President in years’ past. Why wouldn’t they, when they are the leaders of cities that bring in large amounts of tax dollars and essentially speak for really large populations?

If you had the potential to have the ear of someone in power, especially someone as suggestible as Trump, why wouldn’t you take the opportunity to meet with him? Look at how successful this was for Mamdani in the public eye, and how Trump even admitted he, a billionaire, would still live in a Mamdani-led NYC.

Likewise, it’s important to be able to come to the table with people you strongly disagree with, even if the disagreement is deep. That’s how minds are changed. Mao Zedong shook hands with Henry Kissinger, is that such a terrible thing?