Mayor Mamdani declines Trump selfie request on Jimmy Kimmel Live
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani appeared on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' and discussed his work on housing projects.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hold a joint news conference after a meeting at Gracie Mansion on Sept. 21.
Photograph: HuffPost (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani appeared on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' on 28 September.
- During the show, Jimmy Kimmel asked Mamdani to send a selfie of them to President Donald Trump.
- Mamdani refused the request, saying, 'Jimmy, I love you, but I love housing more.'
- Mamdani also discussed the Sunnyside Yard project, which he said would create 12,000 homes and 30,000 jobs.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 11 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 13 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
60/100
Hype
20/100
13 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
Only 2 of the 11 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani appeared as a guest on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' on 28 September. During the interview, host Jimmy Kimmel asked Mamdani if he would send a selfie of himself and Kimmel to President Donald Trump. Mamdani declined the request, stating, 'Jimmy, I love you, but I love housing more.' Mamdani also spoke about his work on the Sunnyside Yard project, describing it as a development that would include 12,000 new homes and create 30,000 jobs.
Disagreement on Mamdani's prior relationship with Trump
HuffPost reported that Mamdani defended the media during a joint news conference with Trump and called on news organizations banned by Trump. Variety stated that Kimmel asked Mamdani about his 'unexpected' and 'friendly' relationship with Trump, to which Mamdani replied that he and the president have disagreements but agree on the city. The Statesman digest noted that the interview covered how the Mamdani-Trump bond began.
What the coverage left out
None of the left, centre, or right-rated digests mention the specific number of jobs Mamdani stated the Sunnyside Yard project would create. The right-rated digests did not mention Mamdani's comments on defending the media or his remarks regarding Haitian New Yorkers' protected status.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 2 times, most recently on 29 Sept 2026, 14:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
7 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports from HuffPost and Variety, along with digests from The Independent, The Independent (US), NBC New York, and NY Daily News, focused on Mamdani's refusal to send a selfie to Trump and his stated reason. HuffPost and Variety, which provided full reports, detailed Mamdani's discussion of the Sunnyside Yard project, with HuffPost stating it would feature 12,000 homes and create 30,000 jobs, and Variety estimating 12,000 new homes and approximately 30,000 jobs. HuffPost also noted Mamdani defended the media during a press conference with Trump. Variety mentioned Mamdani's comments on Haitian New Yorkers' protected status. NBC New York's digest mentioned Mamdani discussing his relationship with the president and a 'sewer mystery'.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports from The Statesman and Internewscast highlighted Mamdani's refusal of the selfie request and his reasoning. The Statesman digest specifically mentioned Mamdani's quote and the beginning of his bond with Trump. Internewscast's digest focused on Mamdani revealing why he gets along with Trump.
Right
2 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports from TheMix.net and New York Post focused on Mamdani's appearance on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' and his refusal of the selfie request. TheMix.net digest noted Mamdani denied Kimmel's request for a selfie to send to Donald Trump. The New York Post digest stated Mamdani was set to join 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' for the NYC broadcast.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Mayor Mamdani declines Trump selfie request on Jimmy Kimmel Live?
- Of the 11 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 64% are rated left, 18% are rated centre, 18% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 13. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Mayor Mamdani declines Trump selfie request on Jimmy Kimmel Live left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 11 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Mayor Mamdani declines Trump selfie request on Jimmy Kimmel Live biased?
- Mayor Mamdani declines Trump selfie request on Jimmy Kimmel Live is one event reported by 13 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Mayor Mamdani declines Trump selfie request on Jimmy Kimmel Live?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Mayor Mamdani declines Trump selfie request on Jimmy Kimmel Live?
- 13 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Mayor Zohran Mamdani say when asked to send a selfie to Donald Trump?
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani declined Jimmy Kimmel's request to send a selfie of them to President Donald Trump. He responded by saying, 'Jimmy, I love you, but I love housing more,' indicating his priority was on housing development.
- What is the Sunnyside Yard project?
- The Sunnyside Yard project is a development discussed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'. He stated it would involve building a platform over a rail yard to create approximately 12,000 new homes and an estimated 30,000 jobs.
- Did Zohran Mamdani and Donald Trump have a friendly relationship?
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani appeared on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' and addressed his relationship with President Donald Trump. While Mamdani acknowledged they have disagreements, he stated they share a common affection for New York City and that their communication often focuses on city matters like the Sunnyside Yard project.
Read it at the source
13 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
7- Mamdani refuses request to send Trump a selfie of him and Kimmel (opens The Independent (US) in a new tab)
The Independent (US) — is The Independent (US) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Mamdani refuses request to send Trump a selfie of him and Kimmel (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Zohran Mamdani Reveals What Was Really On His Mind During Viral Moment Next To Trump (opens HuffPost in a new tab)
- What about a selfie? Mamdani refuses to send Trump a pic of him and Jimmy Kimmel (opens NBC New York in a new tab)
NBC New York — is NBC New York biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Zohran Mamdani Refuses to Text Trump a Selfie of Him and Jimmy Kimmel (opens RollingStone in a new tab)
RollingStone — is RollingStone biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani Refuses Jimmy Kimmel’s Request to Text Trump a Selfie of Them (opens Variety in a new tab)
- Mayor Mamdani to join ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ in Brooklyn after ‘SNL’ spoof (opens NY Daily News in a new tab)
NY Daily News — is NY Daily News biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
2- 'Jimmy, I love you, but...': Zohran Mamdani shuts down Kimmel's plan to text Donald Trump a selfie of them (opens The Statesman in a new tab)
The Statesman — is The Statesman biased? Our profile of this outlet
- NYC Mayor Mamdani Reveals Why He Gets Along With Trump on Kimmel (opens Internewscast in a new tab)
Internewscast — is Internewscast biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
2- Zohran Mamdani Denies Jimmy Kimmel’s Request for a Selfie to Send to Donald Trump (opens TheMix.net in a new tab)
TheMix.net — is TheMix.net biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Mamdani set to join ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ for NYC-broadcast on Monday (opens New York Post in a new tab)
New York Post — is New York Post biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
2How did this read?
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