Mamdani, Obama Meet for 1st Time Publicly at Bronx Child Care Center

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former President Barack Obama had their first public meeting on April 18, bringing together two influential figures in the Democratic Party from different generations.

At a day care center in New York City, Obama appeared alongside Mamdani, whose policies have focused on expanding social programs, including universal child care, and helping the city’s struggling working class.

Obama and Mamdani led a sing-along of “Wheels on the Bus” and read the book “Alone and Together” at the Learning Through Play Pre-K Center in the South Bronx.

“Great spending time with New York City’s Cutest,” Obama posted on X on April 18. “And thanks to [the New York City mayor] for giving me an excuse to break out my best ‘Wheels on the Bus.’”

Mamdani posted on X: “Today, President Barack Obama and I read to a group of toddlers at Learning Through Play Pre-K Center in the South Bronx. In between singing [“Wheels on the Bus,”] we discussed our administration’s vision for this City—one where New York’s Cutest have the strongest start possible.”

The meeting happened a week after Mamdani marked his 100th day in office.

Mamdani had campaigned on a promise of “free childcare” as a way to reduce costs for families living in the city.

“After rent, the biggest cost for New York’s working families is childcare,” Mamdani’s campaign website stated. “It’s literally driving them out of the city: New Yorkers with children [younger than age 6] are leaving at double the rate of all others. The burden falls heaviest on mothers, who are giving up paying jobs to do unpaid childcare.

“[Mamdani] will implement free childcare for every New Yorker aged 6 weeks to 5 years, ensuring high quality programming for all families. And he will bring up wages for childcare workers—a quarter of whom currently live in poverty—to be at parity with public school teachers. It will foster early childhood development, save parents money and keep our families in the city they call home.”

The estimated cost to pay for that program is $6 billion.

Mamdani and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul have announced the first phase of a universal child care initiative, launching free child care spots for 2-year-olds in four high-need communities this fall.

The initial rollout will provide 2,000 free spots in child care programs for 2-year-olds, with no tuition cost to families, across neighborhoods in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. The program will start in September, with officials planning a broader expansion in the coming years. The program is expected to serve approximately 12,000 children by 2027, with the goal of reaching every 2-year-old in the city.