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: impartial Andrew Cuomo.
“I’m not a fan of Cuomo someway, but when it’s gonna be between a foul Democrat and a communist, I’m gonna choose the unhealthy Democrat on a regular basis, to be sincere 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 foul Democrat. To start with, I occur to be a superb 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’d not settle for Donald Trump’s endorsement,” he stated. And he insisted in a social-media submit 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 submit and telling his followers “you will need to vote for” Cuomo:
A vote for Curtis Sliwa (who appears significantly better with out the beret!) is a vote for Mamdani. Whether or not you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you actually haven’t any selection. You will need to vote for him, and hope he does a unbelievable 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 correct. 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 help for the previous governor, knocking Sliwa and mocking Mamdani’s title within the course of. “Keep 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 title 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 unit in Buffalo with an organization that was finally purchased out by Tesla. The manufacturing unit venture, 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 yr.
Within the waning days of the mayoral race, Cuomo has additionally picked up endorsements from a variety of self-professed foes, together with some Republican members of the state’s congressional delegation who opted for Cuomo over Sliwa. Consultant Nick Langworthy advised Fox Information that he could be endorsing Cuomo from throughout the aisle, saying that the longtime Democrat is the one clear possibility within the race as Sliwa continues to path in third place. “I’ve had loads of disagreements — very publicly through the years — 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 prompt 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 finally a vote for the Democratic nominee. “I’m urging you all to actually contemplate voting for Andrew Cuomo as a result of it’s the solely resolution we’ve,” 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 help behind Sliwa, calling him the “ONE mayoral candidate who has NOT contributed to the demise of our metropolis” again in September.
This submit has been up to date.
