WATCH | Obama and Mamdani go ‘squish, squish’ with preschoolers as they sing along to ‘Wheels on the Bus’ at Bronx

US former President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani spent their Saturday singing “Wheels on the Bus” along preschoolers at Learning Through Play Pre-K in the Bronx, New York.

The duo can be seen fully engaged in the nursery rhyme as they sang along with the preschoolers and waved their hands going “squish, squish, squish.”

Obama also shared pictures from the visit to the pre-school on X and wrote: “Great spending time with New York City’s Cutest. And thanks to the NYC Mayor for giving me an excuse to break out my best ‘Wheels on the Bus’.”

Obama and Mamdani did not take questions after reading the book “Alone and Together” to the children and leading a sing-along of “The Wheels on the Bus.”

After reading and singing with the kids, Obama said, “This is what we need, making an investment in these amazing kids.”

The visit comes in the backdrop of Mamdani's push to expand free childcare programs across New York City.

Obama-Mamadani meet-up

Barack Obama's meeting with Zohran Mamdani comes as the democratic socialist, who marked his 100th day in office just over a week ago, is also trying to build a working relationship with Republican US President Donald Trump.

Obama and Mamdani held a brief meeting in private prior to joining the classroom for the reading event, according to a CNN report, citing sources.

Their team had been eager to set up a meeting between both leaders since Mamdani’s election last November, the source said, adding that the opportunity came together in the last few days because Obama was expected to be in New York City this weekend.

“In between singing wheels on the bus, the two leaders discussed the Mayor’s vision for the City and the importance of giving New York’s Cutest the strongest start possible,” Mamdani's press secretary Joe Calvello said in a statement.

The former two-term president and standard-bearer for the Democratic Party has offered to be a sounding board for Mamdani, 34, whose star power, youth and progressive agenda have made him stand out in Democratic politics.

Mamdani took office in January after a campaign centred on making New York City a more affordable place to live, centring his agenda on refocusing the vast power of government toward helping the city’s struggling working class.

Mamdani-Trump relationship

Zohran Mamdani has met twice with Donald Trump at the White House in November and February to discuss issues affecting New York.

Despite those friendly meetings, their relationship has shown signs of strain recently, with Trump posting on social media on Thursday that Mamdani was “DESTROYING New York” with his taxing policies and threatening to pull federal funding for the city.

"Sadly, Mayor Mamdani is DESTROYING New York! It has no chance! The United States of America should not contribute to its failure. It will only get WORSE. The TAX, TAX, TAX Policies are SO WRONG," Trump wrote. "People are fleeing. They must change their ways, AND FAST. History has proven, THIS “STUFF” JUST DOESN’T WORK."

Mamdani did not say whether he has spoken to Trump since his social media post, but said he wasn’t surprised Trump disagreed with the policy.

(With AP inputs)