Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo has said he would turn down an endorsement from President Trump in the New York City mayoral race.
Some have argued that Trump should endorse Cuomo to try and help him defeat the Muslim communist candidate Zohran Mamdani.
Cuomo was first asked about by NBC host Kristen Welker accepting an endorsement from incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who announced he was suspending his campaign earlier this week.
“I would welcome his support,” Cuomo said. “You know, this is a general election, it’s Democrats, Republicans, independents,”
“I would welcome the mayor’s support. I’d welcome big-tent support,” Cuomo added.
Welker then pressed Cuomo on whether he would accept an endorsement from Trump.
“The tent isn’t that big,” he responded. “That’s the limitation.”
”I have not had a conversation, nor would I accept an endorsement from President Trump.”
While Mamdani remains the favorite to prevail in next month’s election, polls have tightened following Adams withdrawal.
Nevertheless, Cuomo would ideally need Republican candidate Curtis Silwa to drop out the race and win over a large chunk of Republican voters in order to get over the line.
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Cuomo, who launched his campaign as an independent after losing to Mamdani in a landslide during the Democratic primary, framed the election as a “very stark choice between me and Mr. Mamdani.”
“You know, it’s apples and oranges,” he said. “We couldn’t be more different. I’m a mainstream Democrat. He’s a fringe Democrat.”
He also criticized Trump’s labelling of Mamdani as a communist, despite the fact he openly identifies as such.
“He has said, basically, if Mamdani wins the election, that he would — President Trump would — basically have to take control of New York, because Mamdani is not qualified,” Cuomo complained.
“He calls him a communist and that he’s anti-police, etcetera. So he said he would take over New York.”
”That kind of federal usurping of state local authority, I think, is an existential threat.”
While not as dangerously left-wing or ideological as Mamdani, Cuomo still has his own appalling record during his time as New York governor.
The 67-year-old, who served from 2011 until 2021 when he was ousted over allegations of sexual harassment, was most notorious for his handling of the COVID pandemic.
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Over the course of the pandemic, Cuomo aggressively shut down the state of New York, imposed mask and vaccine mandates and was blamed for sending thousands of vulnerable old people to their deaths in nursing homes.
He is currently under investigation from the Department of Justices over false testimony he made about his handling of the pandemic.
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