New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani met with former President Barack Obama on April 18 for a preschool visit. This was their first public meeting since Obama’s phone call to Mamdani in November to compliment his campaign. After the event, Obama took to social media to thank Mamdani for his time. 

Mamdani’s first 100 days in office consisted of many fulfilled promises such as filling New York’s potholes, taxing the rich and improving child care. As a self-procclaimed democratic socialist, Mamdani’s policies reflect his political standing. However, support for him from the Democratic Party has been reluctant. 

Mamdani has been slowly garnering support from the Democratic Party over time, as many big Democratic politicians did not endorse him during his campaign. Mamdani’s meetings with President Donald Trump, where the two have been trying to find equal footing in terms of supporting New York, has demonstrated a similar effort to find mutual understanding. Mamdani has told the press he still thinks Trump is a fascist and his relationship with the president seems to be at a stand-still after Trump took to social media to post about how Mamdani is destroying New York with his taxing policies. 

However, Mamdani is not the only one subjected to Trump’s social media antics. Just this February, Trump posted an AI video depicting Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes, pointedly during Black History Month. This video was met with outrage from many politicians and public figures and organizations. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) posted a statement on their website condemning Trump’s actions as blatantly racist. 

One thing Mamdani and Obama have in common is their scrutiny from the public eye. While politicians are not to be worshipped, it is important to hold them accountable in order to see any change.