Zohran Mamdani Rejects Jimmy Kimmel's Request to Text Donald Trump a Selfie

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani denied Jimmy Kimmel's request to take a selfie with him to send to Donald Trump.

The host requested Mamdani send the image via text message to Trump during the mayor's Monday, September 28, appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

"Jimmy, I love you, but I love housing more," the 34-year-old mayor told the host.

Mamdani appeared as part of a weeklong series of Jimmy Kimmel Live! shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, which marks the eighth time Kimmel has taken his show to Brooklyn, his hometown. Later in the week, the show was set to have Howard Stern, Billy Crystal, Paul McCartney and Sen. Bernie Sanders as guests.

The host said the show received over 150,000 ticket requests. He started the week with Pete Davidson, who was promoting his Netflix video podcast "The Pete Davidson Show," and TV on the Radio performed to mark the 20th anniversary of their album Return to Cookie Mountain.

Kimmel ran a montage of Fox News pundits warning that New York City would be "terrifying" under the new mayor before Mamdani came out, and Zohran got a huge round of applause when he did.

"I live in Los Angeles, and that is not the reception our mayor would get," he said.

He then asked, "How is the complete and total destruction of New York going?" to which Zohran responded, "You know, it's proceeding as planned."

Kimmel said Mamdani's relationship with Trump was "very unexpected," and he followed up by asking, "How did you do that, and can you help me?"

Mamdani responded by laughing and saying, "Sorry, brother."

Mamdani continued, "The president and I have many disagreements. One thing we do agree on is this city, how much we love this city."

Kimmel then showed a clip of Trump speaking at Gracie Mansion as he stood beside him, and afterward he quipped, "OK, this is not a guy I'd want to play poker with."

Kimmel asked, "You text with the president, I've read?"

"From time to time we're in communication, and it's about Sunnyside Yard, and it's about how we can deliver for the city," Mamdani answered.

He referred to his planned residential development in Queens, which would provide approximately 12,000 homes, and described it as the "largest housing development since the early 1970s." He also said that he and Mamdani had discussed Haitian residents of New York City whose Temporary Protected Status has ended, saying, "They're part of the fabric of this city."

When Kimmel asked about Trump's texts, Mamdani replied, "Pretty standard."

The host quickly retorted, "Normal sentence case? Wow, you really have broken through with him! You seem to be doing a great job in New York, but I need you to move to Washington just to hang out at the Oval Office all day."

Kimmel also reportedly asked Mamdani to "be our mayor after this," but the mayor declined that request too.

His appearance on the show came just days after Trump referenced him positively in front of reporters during a visit to New York City, saying, "I'll be able to say you're going to be a great one, and you're off to a start," The Independent reported.

There's been no love lost between Kimmel and Trump. In September 2025, while he was still a candidate for mayor, Mamdani withdrew from a WABC town hall meeting over ABC's decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live!, saying, "ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel off the air after the FCC sought to pressure them."