Former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is banking on his longtime foe President Donald Trump to encourage voters to back his longshot bid for New York City mayor against socialist Zohran Mamdani, Politico reported on Tuesday.
Cuomo claimed at a Hamptons fundraising event on Saturday that he thinks Trump and other “top Republicans” will say their “goal” is to stop Mamdani — the Democratic nominee and a self-avowed socialist — from winning the New York City mayoral race, Politico reported. The report comes as Cuomo, who is now running as an independent, has recently been attempting to revamp his campaign messaging strategy following his upset loss to Mamdani in the June 24 Democratic mayoral primary.
“We can minimize [the Republican New York City mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa] vote, because he’ll never be a serious candidate,” Cuomo said, according to audio obtained by Politico. “And Trump himself, as well as top Republicans, will say the goal is to stop Mamdani. And you’ll be wasting your vote on [Republican nominee Curtis] Sliwa. So I feel good about that.”
While running in the Democratic primary against Mamdani, Cuomo had been an outspoken critic of Trump and had previously referred to him as a “bully.” Similarly, Cuomo had vowed to “stand up to” and “stop” the president if he is elected mayor of New York City, in the days leading up to his shock loss to the socialist.
“Donald Trump only picks fights that he can win,” Cuomo said in a June 12 post to the social media platform X. “He cannot win a fight with me as Mayor of New York.”
During the Saturday fundraiser, an attendee asked Cuomo if he or his team had been talking with the White House about how the president might help shape the New York City mayoral race. Cuomo notably did not outright deny it.
“Let’s put it this way: I knew the president very well,” Cuomo said, according to Politico. “I believe there’s a big piece of him that actually wants redemption in New York. He feels that he was rejected by New York. We voted for Hillary Clinton. Bill de Blasio took his name off things. So I believe there will be opportunities to actually cooperate with him. I also believe that he’s not going to want to fight with me in New York if he can avoid it.”
In August, The New York Times (NYT) reported that President Donald Trump had held a phone call with Cuomo to talk about the battle for New York City mayor. Though, Cuomo has since denied the NYT report.
“The governor was asked what he heard to be a hypothetical about how it could become a two person race and was speculating,” Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement. “We’re not asking for or expecting help from anyone — he also said the mayor would have to drop out and the mayor said he wasn’t going to.”
“Governor Cuomo is the only chance to beat Mamdani and ensure the greatest city in the world stays the greatest city in the world,” Azzopardi added.
The former governor had told reporters on Aug. 7 that he would decline Trump’s endorsement in the mayoral race if he were to receive it, CNN reported. Still, Cuomo told business leaders that he does not “personally” want to fight with the president, the NYT reported on Aug. 7.
Cuomo served as governor of New York from 2011 to 2021 and resigned in disgrace amid sexual harassment allegations. Though, Cuomo has denied the allegations.
Earlier this year, Trump said that he has “always gotten along with” Cuomo.
Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly criticized Mamdani this year. In a June 25 Truth Social post, Trump blasted Mamdani as a “100% Communist Lunatic.”
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