President Trump on Tuesday said Andrew Cuomo should hang in there to help keep New York’s mayoral office from going to socialist Zohran Mamdani.

“I think he should stay. I think he has a shot. Would you prefer him over well, I don’t want to say. I’m a Republican, he’s a Democrat or an Independent,” Mr. Trump told reporters Tuesday on the South Lawn before taking off on Marine One for a trip to Pittsburgh.

Mr. Trump said Mr. Cuomo can still emerge victorious in the multi-candidate race if he runs a “tough campaign.”

“You know, he’s running against a Communist, I would think that he would have a good shot at winning,” he said, referring to Mr. Mamdani, whose socialist-style platform includes free city buses, free child care, rent freezes and government-run grocery stores.

Mr. Cuomo, who resigned as New York governor in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal, announced Monday he was staying in the mayor’s race as an independent after Mr. Mamdani defeated him in the Democratic primary by nearly 13 points.

Embattled Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat running as an independent, Curtis Sliwa, a Republican, and Jim Walden, also an independent, will be on the ballot, too.

Mr. Cuomo’s stunning primary defeat put a damper on his political comeback and shook the Democratic Party establishment, which spent heavily on him and is now trying to devise new ways to stop Mr. Mamdani.

For his part, Mr. Cuomo is backing a plan first hatched by Mr. Walden that calls on the anti-Mamdani forces to rally behind a single candidate in mid-September based on polling.

Mr. Adams refuses to play along, saying Mr. Cuomo cannot be trusted to follow through on the grand plan if it does not work out in his favor.

Mr. Adams, meanwhile, faces significant headwinds. 

His approval rating is in the tank thanks in part to the political fallout from his indictment on federal corruption charges last year, which the Trump Justice Department chose not to pursue.

Mr. Trump, who built his reputation as a real estate mogul in the city, has been keeping tabs on the race and leveled sharp criticism at Mr. Mamdani.

On Tuesday, Mr. Trump said Mr. Mamdani’s baggage is starting to be exposed.

“Things are coming out about [Mr. Mamdani] which aren’t good,” he said, without providing more details.

In a video posted on social media, Mr. Cuomo said the Democratic primary did not go the way he hoped, but he is not done.

“As my grandfather used to say, when you get knocked down, learn the lesson, and pick yourself back up and get into the game, and that is what I am going to do,” Mr. Cuomo said. “The fight to save our city isn’t over — only 13% of New Yorkers voted in the June primary. The general election is in November, and I am in it to win it.”

Mr. Mamdani has served in the state Assembly since 2021 and received support from more than 545,000 voters during the Democratic primary. He promotes his agenda as taking the dramatic steps necessary to lower the cost of living in the city. True to his socialist brand, he calls for “seizing the means of production.”

John McLaughlin, a New York-based GOP strategist, said the Cuomo-endorsed plan for fielding a single alternative is backward.

Mr. McLaughlin said the chief focus of Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Adams should be driving up Mr. Mamdani’s negatives in the eyes of Democratic voters who dominate the city.

Then the opponents of Mr. Mamdani should decide who is the best alternative.

“It doesn’t matter who is in right now, if Mamdani holds favorables over 50 percent among Democrats, he is likely to get elected,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “It can be done, but they are running out of time.”

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.

• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.