New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo said he doesn’t want President Trump involved in the mayor’s race following reports that he’s seeking to clear the field for the former governor.
Cuomo said during a press conference Thursday he doesn’t know if The New York Times report that Trump advisers have discussed offering current Mayor Eric Adams a job in the administration for him to drop out of the race is accurate, and he hasn’t spoken with Trump nor Adams about it. The report said the administration has also discussed making the same offer to Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, with the goal of giving Cuomo the best chance of defeating Zohran Mamdani in November.
Cuomo said he hasn’t sought Trump’s support and wouldn’t accept it.
“I don’t want him involved in anything to do with my race,” Cuomo said, but he added that whether Adams or Sliwa choose to continue in the race is up to them.
A spokesperson for Adams told the Times the mayor hadn’t spoken with the president about serving in a position in the administration, while Sliwa released a statement affirming he hasn’t been in touch with the White House and wouldn’t accept a position, saying his focus is on New York City.
Pressure has risen in recent weeks for opposition to Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, to coalesce behind one candidate. Critics of Mamdani have been concerned that the anti-Mamdani vote could be split among the other candidates and allow the Democratic socialist to win.
Independent Jim Walden, who initially called for the candidates to get behind whichever appears to be strongest against Mamdani, dropped out of the race this week to avoid adding to a potential split vote. But Walden was only receiving a couple percentage points of support in the polls, keeping his impact minimal.
If a candidate like Adams or Sliwa were to drop out, that could affect the race more significantly, though Mamdani likely still would be the favorite in the heavily Democratic city.
Cuomo said he doesn’t know what Trump or Adams are doing, but “it’s none of my business.” He said Mamdani is concerned about a one-on-one race with him because he doesn’t currently have the support of most New Yorkers.
Polls have shown Mamdani with a steady lead over the other candidates but generally with less than 50 percent support.
Mamdani responded to the Times report on Wednesday by accusing Trump, Cuomo and Adams of trying to “scheme behind closed doors.”
Cuomo said if the other candidates all agree Mamdani is an “existential threat,” then they should “defer” to the strongest candidate against him. He said his history with Trump is “crystal clear” and he fought Trump while he was governor.
“I think every New Yorker knows that toe-to-toe with Donald Trump, I serve New York well,” he said.