What Trump’s Endorsement of Cuomo Could Mean for the New York Mayoral Race

President Donald Trump has endorsed former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his independent bid for New York City mayor, escalating his efforts to galvanize opposition to Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani as the 34-year-old heads into the election with a substantial lead in the polls. “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,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday, the eve of the election. “He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!” Trump said that if Mamdani were elected, he would be “highly unlikely” to contribute more than the “very minimum as required” in federal funds for the city. “I would much rather see a Democrat, who has had a Record of Success, WIN, than a Communist with no experience and a Record of COMPLETE AND TOTAL FAILURE,” Trump continued, leveling a string of attacks against Mamdani. “He was nothing as an Assemblyman, ranked at the bottom of the class and, as Mayor of potentially, again, the Greatest City in the World, HE HAS NO CHANCE to bring it back to its former Glory!” He also advised against voting for the sole Republican in the race, Curtis Sliwa, saying that a vote for the GOP nominee is “a vote for Mamdani.” Read more: ‘A Politics of No Translation.’ Zohran Mamdani on His Unlikely Rise The President made similar comments in a “60 Minutes” interview over the weekend, offering a tepid endorsement of Cuomo and calling Mamdani a communist. (Mamdani is a democratic socialist.) “I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or another, but if it’s going to be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I’m going to pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you,” Trump said. Mamdani appeared unfazed by Trump’s comments in the Sunday interview, taking to social media on Monday to advertise the President’s support for Cuomo as a boost for his own campaign as both candidates were roving around the city interacting with voters a day before the election. Hundreds of supporters marched across the Brooklyn Bridge led by Mamdani, who was holding a sign that read, “Our Time Is Now.” Further south, in Staten Island, Cuomo ate margherita pizza and greeted voters. The extent of the President’s potential influence with New Yorkers in Cuomo’s uphill battle with Mamdani is questionable. Trump lost big in the city, his hometown, in all three of his presidential runs, though he made gains in every county in the New York City metropolitan area in 2024 compared to four years prior, according to Gothamist. The Bronx—where Trump won 27% of votes in 2024, compared to 16% in 2020—saw the largest shift in his favor in the state. In Queens, his home borough, Trump’s support jumped from almost 22% to 38%. In Staten Island, where Cuomo campaigned on Monday, Trump carried the majority of votes all three times. Trump’s approval has since fallen significantly in the months since he took office in January, and is underwater not just in New York City but in the state as a whole. Both Mamdani and Cuomo have highlighted their opposition to the President on the campaign trail. Cuomo has previously said he would reject an endorsement from Trump. On Monday, the former governor pushed back on Trump’s description of him in the “60 Minutes” interview as a “bad Democrat” and sought to distance himself from the President’s support, telling reporters of the lukewarm endorsement, “He didn’t say that,” according to Politico. Read more: What to Watch For in NYC and Other Battlegrounds as Election Results Come In A poll conducted last week by AtlasIntel found Cuomo had successfully shrunk Mamdani’s lead to just seven points, apparently marking the most competitive point in the run for mayor, in the wake of incumbent Eric Adams dropping out of the race and throwing his support behind Cuomo. However, Mamdani is still a clear frontrunner heading into Election Day, and maintained a two-digit lead in other polls taken just days earlier.  Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have already participated in early-voting, outpacing the last election. Large donors, including former mayor Michael Bloomberg, have contributed to Cuomo’s campaign in an effort to stymie Mamdani’s run.