Trump says Cuomo has a 'good shot' for NYC mayor; Mamdani camp calls it an 'endorsement'
President Donald Trump weighed in on the race for New York City mayor on July 15, saying former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo "should stay" in the race.
"I think Andrew would have a good shot," Trump, the former New Yorker, said of Cuomo's run on an independent party line during a press gaggle in front of Marine One on Tuesday, July 15.
Trump meanwhile lashed out against the frontrunner in the race for Gracie Mansion, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, saying Cuomo is "running against a communist."
The Mamdani campaign seized on the moment, casting Trump's comments as an "endorsement" of Cuomo.
"Obviously, this triumph speaks for itself," Mamdani campaign spokesperson Jeffrey Lerner said in a statement provided to Paste BN. "The question now is whether Cuomo will embrace Trump’s support publicly or continue to just accept it in private."
Paste BN reached out to the Cuomo campaign for comment and did not receive an immediate response.
Mamdani won the first round of ranked choice voting with 44% to Cuomo's 36%, causing the former governor to make an unexpected concession on election night. The final round handed Mamdani a more than 12-point win.
Trump appears to snub Adams, Sliwa
Trump notably did not mention incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, or Curtis Sliwa, the nominee representing Trump's Republican party.
Trump's Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors in Manhattan not to prosecute Adams on corruption charges in February, in part to allow him to advance the administration's priorities on immigration enforcement. The acting interim U.S. attorney resigned, as did six other prosecutors in New York and at department headquarters in Washington, D.C.
City officials at the time pointed to the incumbent's appearances on Fox News, a channel Trump is known to be a viewer of, as an example of Adams' willingness to help Trump's immigration crackdown.
Paste BN reached out to the Adams campaign and did not receive an immediate response.
Sliwa, in a statement provided to Paste BN, said "President Trump is right, as Cuomo, Adams, Zohran, and I all have a chance. It's a four-way race, and all four of us have a shot."
"That's why we should let the people decide on November 4th who the next Mayor of New York City will be," Sliwa said.
The Republican nominee previously said Adams and Cuomo were "running as independents to cling to relevance" and that they were playing "musical chairs on a sinking ship."
Cuomo re-entry ignites primary split
Cuomo made his anticipated run official in a video posted to X on July 14 with the caption, "In it to win it."
"I was not aggressive enough in communicating my vision for a fairer, safer, more affordable New York, or in debunking Zohran Mamdani's unrealistic proposals and divisive agenda," Cuomo said in an accompanying press release.
He added that he accepted a proposal from former Gov. David Patterson and longshot independent candidate Jim Walden to coalesce behind the candidate who appears most likely to defeat Mamdani.
"In mid-September, we will determine which candidate is strongest against Mamdani and all other candidates will stand down, rather than act as spoilers and guarantee Mamdani's election," Cuomo said.
“New Yorkers knew those answers three weeks ago. They will know those answers in November,” Mamdani said July 15 as he accepted the endorsement of DC37, the city's largest public employee union.
The former governor's re-entry in the race has reignited the split that defined the primary and served as a bellwether for the larger Democratic Party.
The coalition that repelled Cuomo in June framed the choice facing New Yorkers as one between an older, moderate political establishment and a youthful, progressive vision for the party that lost the White House in November.
"I, as a Democrat, support the (Democratic) nominee. It's disappointing to see how people want the party to rally behind the (nominee) when that (nominee) is them — & then ... that principle gets thrown out the window when the (nominee) is ... someone they don't like," Democratic Congresswoman for the Bronx and Mamdani supporter Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was quoted as saying by Spectrum News New York reporter Kevin Frey.
Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas, Paste BN