Andrew Cuomo has seemingly declared himself an “anti-billionaire” as he re-entered the New York mayoral race.

Mr Cuomo, the former New York governor, lost the Democratic primary to socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani last month but on Monday announced he would stand as a third-party candidate.

Mr Mamdani was propelled to victory by a campaign focused on the cost of living, with plans to raise the minimum wage to $30 an hour, freeze rent for stabilised tenants and build 200,000 affordable homes within a decade.

In an interview with New York Magazine on Tuesday, Mr Cuomo likened himself to his 33-year-old rival, claiming they were both “anti-billionaire”.

“I believe he is authentic in his political ideology… social, anti-business becomes anti-establishment, anti-billionaire,” he said of Mr Mamdani.

“Which, yeah, I’m anti-billionaire. They have too much money. Make them give it back, especially when we’re having an affordability crisis.”

Claims Cuomo adopted Mamdani’s words

The comments have prompted a row between the media and the Cuomo camp, who have pushed back on reports of their candidate’s apparent adoption of Mr Mamdani’s talking points.

“That’s a silly manipulation of the governor’s words: he was clearly explaining and mimicking Mamdani’s campaign message and how it resonated with his supporters,” said Rich Azzopardi, Mr Cuomo’s spokesman.

“That’s not his position at all and both the context of the conversation makes that clear.”