As New Yorkers head to the polls to choose their next mayor, President Trump has thrown his weight behind Andrew Cuomo, urging voters to steer clear of progressive favourite Zohran Mamdani in a move that has shaken up the city’s already charged political landscape.
“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 wrote on Truth Social on Monday evening. “He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!”
The president had earlier hinted at withholding substantial federal aid from New York if Mamdani were to win, saying he would provide only “the bare minimum” support to his hometown under a Mamdani administration.
His remarks echoed those made during a Sunday television interview, where he described Mamdani as a “communist”, a label the candidate has firmly dismissed. As Trump stated, “It’s gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York, because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there”.
Reacting to Trump’s remarks on federal funding, Mamdani said he would “call that threat what it is: it is a threat. It is not the law,” asserting that such comments were an attempt to intimidate voters rather than reflect policy.
Mamdani, who identifies as a democratic socialist, dismissed the “communist” label as political fearmongering. In a recent television appearance, he brushed off the criticism with humour, saying he was “kind of like a Scandinavian politician.”
This isn’t the first time the president has targeted Democratic-led regions. His administration has previously sought to slash federal grants and project funding for cities governed by Democrats. New York City alone received about $7.4 billion in federal aid this fiscal year.
READ: New York mayor election 2025: Zohran Mamdani leads, Trump’s Cuomo remark stirs buzz (
Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, a longtime critic of Trump and former Democratic governor of New York, downplayed the president’s remarks, saying, “he’s not endorsing me. He’s opposing Mamdani.”
Trump, meanwhile, stopped short of endorsing Republican contender Curtis Sliwa. In his Monday social media post, he wrote, “A vote for Curtis Sliwa … is a vote for Mamdani,” effectively distancing himself from both candidates.
Responding to Trump’s comments, Mamdani has hit back, saying, “the MAGA movement’s embrace of Andrew Cuomo is reflective of Donald Trump’s understanding that this would be the best mayor for him.”
“Not the best mayor for New York City, not the best mayor for New Yorkers, but the best mayor for Donald Trump and his administration,” Mamdani added.
If elected, Mamdani would make history as New York City’s first Muslim mayor and its youngest in over a century. The 34-year-old state assemblyman has repeatedly criticised Cuomo, calling him a “puppet” and a “parrot” of Donald Trump.
“The answer to a Donald Trump presidency is not to create its mirror image here in City Hall,” Mamdani said on Monday. “It is to create an alternative that can speak to what New Yorkers are so desperate to see in their own city and what they find in themselves and their neighbours every day – a city that believes in the dignity of everyone who calls this place home.”
Cuomo has countered Mamdani’s criticism by positioning himself as the only contender with the experience to stand up to a Trump administration. He points to his tenure as governor during the COVID-19 crisis, when tensions between state leaders and Washington were at their peak. However, his record remains controversial, as state investigators later revealed that nursing home deaths during the pandemic had been significantly underreported.
READ: Mamdani and Cuomo react to Eric Adams dropping out of NY mayoral race (
“I fought Donald Trump,” Cuomo said during a recent debate ahead of the mayoral vote. “When I’m fighting for New York, I am not going to stop.”
New Yorkers head to the polls on Tuesday to choose a successor to outgoing Mayor Eric Adams. The race has drawn national attention after 34-year-old state assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, clinched the Democratic nomination, defeating both Adams and former Governor Andrew Cuomo. While Cuomo re-entered the race as an independent, Adams eventually withdrew after his campaign struggled to gain momentum.
On Election Day, New Yorkers will choose among Mamdani, who has maintained a strong lead in recent polls, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. The city’s ranked-choice voting system lets voters list candidates by preference, with the winner required to secure more than 50% of the total vote.
Mamdani’s campaign has centred on tackling affordability, with key proposals such as freezing rents in regulated apartments and introducing free bus services across the city. He earned endorsements from progressive figures like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, though prominent Democratic Party leaders were slower to rally behind him.
His message resonated strongly with younger voters, driving higher youth turnout and potentially setting the stage for a record election year. Cuomo, meanwhile, gained an unexpected boost from his former rival, Eric Adams, who endorsed him in a bid to block Mamdani’s rise. The 67-year-old former governor, a veteran of New York politics, has focused his campaign on public safety, pledging to expand the city’s police force.
Polls across New York City are set to close at 9 p.m. EST, after which vote counting will begin to determine who will lead the city through its next political chapter.
1 Comment
Interesting that our president has married 2 foreign born women and 4 of his children are “birthright” citizens and yet he continues to attack and oppose immigrants running for election.