In a surprising turn of events, former US President Donald Trump has thrown his support behind Andrew Cuomo in the race for New York City mayor, emphatically urging voters to reject left-wing frontrunner Zohran Mamdani. Posting on Truth Social, Trump stated, “Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!”
Trump’s endorsement comes with a stern warning; he expressed reservations about providing federal funds to New York City if Mamdani wins. In a recent television interview, he described Mamdani as a communist—an accusation the candidate vehemently denies. “It’s gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York, because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there,” Trump remarked.
Candidate responses and funding implications
In response to Trump’s statements regarding federal funding, Mamdani challenged the validity of the former president’s threat, stating, “I will address that threat for what it is: it is a threat. It is not the law.” Mamdani identifies as a democratic socialist and humorously compared himself to “a Scandinavian politician, only browner” in a previous interview.
This is not the first time the Trump administration has attempted to cut federal funding to projects in predominantly Democratic areas. For the current fiscal year, New York City has received approximately $7.4 billion in federal funding.
Poll standings and election dynamics
Cuomo, who has been a vocal critic of Trump in the past, downplayed the nature of Trump’s endorsement, saying, “He’s not endorsing me. He’s opposing Mamdani.” Polls indicate that Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, is currently leading over Cuomo, who is running as an Independent after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary. Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa is trailing behind both.
Trump refrained from endorsing Sliwa, instead stating, “A vote for Curtis Sliwa… is a vote for Mamdani.” Mamdani criticized Trump’s support for Cuomo, asserting, “The MAGA movement’s embrace of Andrew Cuomo is reflective of Donald Trump’s understanding that this would be the best mayor for him—not the best mayor for New York City, not the best mayor for New Yorkers, but the best mayor for Donald Trump and his administration.”
In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Trump further opined that Mamdani’s administration would make former Mayor Bill de Blasio look competent in comparison. “I got to see de Blasio, how bad a mayor he was, and this man will do a worse job than de Blasio by far,” he stated.
Should Mamdani emerge victorious, he would make history as New York City’s first Muslim mayor and the youngest in over a century. The 34-year-old state assemblyman has labeled Cuomo as a “puppet and parrot of Trump,” emphasizing that “the answer to a Donald Trump presidency is not to create its mirror image here in City Hall. It is to create an alternative that can speak to what New Yorkers are so desperate to see in their own city.”
Cuomo, on the other hand, seeks to position himself as the candidate with the experience needed to confront the Trump administration, recalling his tenure as governor during the Covid-19 pandemic, which was marked by clashes with Trump. “I fought Donald Trump. When I’m fighting for New York, I am not going to stop,” he declared during a recent debate.
As the election approaches, the dynamics among these candidates continue to evolve, with Trump’s involvement adding an intriguing layer to the already complex political landscape of New York City.