Andrew Cuomo says Republicans actually want Mamdani to win so they can attack Democrats as extreme.
New York City mayoral candidate and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is rejecting claims that he is President Donald Trump’s preferred choice in the city’s high-stakes race, calling the suggestion “ludicrous” in an interview on Monday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Cuomo, running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Zohran Mamdani earlier this summer, said the contest will ultimately come down to a stark choice between him and the Democratic Socialist state assemblyman. He said that Republicans want Mamdani to win, not him, because his victory would give them ammunition to portray Democrats as dominated by the far left.
“If you’re a Republican, you are praying for Mamdani to win,” Cuomo said. “If Mamdani wins, they can use that against the Democrats all across the country. If Mamdani wins, they’ll say the Democratic Party has been taken over by socialists. And here’s the position of the socialists—they’re against business, they would raise taxes, everything is free, disband the police, legalized prostitution, abolish jails. They would win all sorts of seats here in New York.”
Mamdani has repeatedly claimed that Cuomo is working with Trump to clear the field in November’s race. The charge followed a report by The New York Times claiming that Trump advisers discussed offering jobs to both Mayor Eric Adams and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa if they dropped out of the race, which could have set up a head-to-head race between Cuomo and Mamdani.
In the same CNBC interview, Cuomo also accused Adams of having an “alliance” with Trump, saying Adams “would be in jail but for President Trump,” referencing a Department of Justice decision earlier this year that dropped a federal corruption investigation of Adams. He suggested Trump might offer Adams a position as a way to exit the race, but said that was separate from the broader Republican strategy.
Adams announced on Friday that he will remain in the race, while Sliwa ruled out any role in the Trump administration.
At a press conference last week, Mamdani called the reports “an affront to our democracy,” saying New Yorkers should choose their leaders without interference from the White House. He accused Cuomo of collaborating with Trump and said, “It is a shame that a candidate for mayor has spoken more to Donald Trump than he has to the governor of this state.”
Cuomo said that Mamdani’s positions on issues such as policing and property ownership are radical and warned voters that his rival’s record cannot be erased.
“You can’t take back what comes out of your mouth on a videotape,” he said.
Mamdani has defended his platform, highlighting endorsements from progressive figures such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and arguing that his proposals address affordability and public safety more effectively than Cuomo’s business-focused approach.
The race remains crowded, with Adams and Sliwa still on the ballot. But Cuomo said that only he or Mamdani can win.
“People don’t want to waste their vote,” he said. “This is going to be me versus Mamdani.”
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