Trump Says NYC ‘Should Vote’ for Cuomo Over Mamdani

Picture: Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg/Getty Pictures

Donald Trump has made no secret of his emotions about New York’s mayoral race, inaccurately denouncing Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani as a “communist” and threatening to withhold federal funding to town if he wins. However in an interview on Sunday’s 60 Minutes, the president lastly gave his official half-hearted backing to a different candidate within the race: unbiased Andrew Cuomo.

“I’m not a fan of Cuomo come what may, but when it’s gonna be between a nasty Democrat and a communist, I’m gonna choose the unhealthy Democrat on a regular basis, to be trustworthy with you,” Trump stated.

Mamdani and his marketing campaign gleefully responded to Trump’s announcement, sharing a graphic congratulating Cuomo:

Cuomo disappeared from bizarre confrontation over Trump’s quasi-endorsement throughout a radio interview on Monday:

He later acknowledged Trump’s feedback throughout a marketing campaign cease:

He known as me a nasty Democrat. To start with, I occur to be an excellent Democrat and a proud Democrat, and I’m going to remain a proud Democrat. Mamdani is just not a communist. He’s a socialist. However we don’t want a socialist mayor both.

Cuomo additionally known as Mamdani a liar and denied Trump’s message was an endorsement. “Trump didn’t endorse me. I stated repeatedly I might not settle for Donald Trump’s endorsement,” he stated. And he insisted in a social-media put up that he was the candidate best-suited to problem any federal overtures from the president.

On Monday night, Trump doubled down, attacking Mamdani and dismissing Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa in a Reality Social put up and telling his followers “you could vote for” Cuomo:

A vote for Curtis Sliwa (who seems to be significantly better with out the beret!) is a vote for Mamdani. Whether or not you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you actually don’t have any alternative. You could vote for him, and hope he does a implausible job. He’s able to it, Mamdani is just not!

This time, Cuomo partially agreed with Trump. He known as into WABC and responded: “The president is true. A vote for Sliwa is a vote for Mamdani. Now it’s gonna be as much as the Republicans, and I hope they take heed to the president.”

Additionally on Monday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk threw in his assist for the previous governor, knocking Sliwa and mocking Mamdani’s identify within the course of. “Bear in mind to vote tomorrow in New York! Keep in mind {that a} vote for Curtis is known as a vote for Mumdumi or no matter his identify is,” Musk wrote on his social-media platform. “VOTE CUOMO!”

Musk has his personal little bit of historical past with Cuomo. In 2014, the then-governor got here to a deal for the development of a solar-panel manufacturing facility in Buffalo with an organization that was in the end purchased out by Tesla. The manufacturing facility mission, which was bolstered by just below a billion {dollars} in state funds, has been criticized for not delivering on the variety of jobs promised, as Politico famous earlier this 12 months.

Within the waning days of the mayoral race, Cuomo has additionally picked up endorsements from various self-professed foes, together with some Republican members of the state’s congressional delegation who opted for Cuomo over Sliwa. Consultant Nick Langworthy instructed Fox Information that he could be endorsing Cuomo from throughout the aisle, saying that the longtime Democrat is the one clear choice within the race as Sliwa continues to path in third place. “I’ve had loads of disagreements — very publicly over time — and fought tooth and nail with Governor Cuomo. However there’s little doubt in my thoughts he could be a far superior mayor than a communist,” he stated.

Consultant Mike Lawler additionally urged Cuomo is your best option between him and Mamdani, telling WABC host Sid Rosenberg that the previous governor was the “lesser of two evils.”

Cuomo additionally obtained the reluctant backing of former congressman and felon George Santos who stated Mamdani posed an existential risk to town and {that a} vote for Sliwa is in the end a vote for the Democratic nominee. “I’m urging you all to essentially think about voting for Andrew Cuomo as a result of it’s the solely resolution we’ve got,” he stated on social media Monday.

However not the entire state’s Republicans are switching sides within the race. Consultant Nicole Malliotakis, the one Republican member in New York Metropolis, urged moderates and conservatives to consolidate assist behind Sliwa, calling him the “ONE mayoral candidate who has NOT contributed to the demise of our metropolis” again in September.

This put up has been up to date.