Trump Endorses Cuomo in New York City Mayor Race

8 hours ago7 min read3 comments

In a stunning political maneuver that has upended the final hours of New York City's mayoral race, former President Donald Trump threw his weight behind former Governor Andrew Cuomo, delivering a blistering anti-endorsement of Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani in a Truth Social post that reads more like a political battle plan than a simple endorsement. 'A vote for [Republican candidate] Curtis Sliwa is a vote for Mamdani,' Trump declared, adding a characteristically personal jab about Sliwa's signature beret before issuing a stark ultimatum to New Yorkers: 'Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice.You must vote for him. ' This eleventh-hour intervention, coming just one day before voters head to the polls, represents a calculated escalation of the political warfare Trump first signaled during his '60 Minutes' interview, where he explicitly threatened to withhold federal funding from New York City should the democratic socialist Mamdani prevail.The strategic calculus here is brutally clear—Trump is not merely endorsing Cuomo so much as he is weaponizing his own political capital to create a binary choice designed to fracture the Democratic coalition and elevate Cuomo's independent bid as the only viable bulwark against what he repeatedly labels a 'Communist' takeover of his 'beloved first home. ' This is classic Trumpian political jujitsu, leveraging fear and loyalty in equal measure to reshape the electoral battlefield to his advantage.The latest RealClearPolitics polling average, showing Mamdani at 46. 1%, Cuomo at 31.8%, and Sliwa languishing at 16. 3%, illustrates precisely why Trump felt compelled to act; by effectively attempting to collapse the non-Mamdani vote behind Cuomo, he aims to orchestrate a dramatic come-from-behind victory that would simultaneously humiliate the Democratic establishment and demonstrate his enduring influence over urban politics.The response from the Mamdani camp has been equally tactical and media-savvy. Before Trump's post even hit Truth Social, Mamdani's team had already pre-empted the news with a slick social media graphic featuring Trump and Cuomo alongside the damning quote 'I'm going to pick [Cuomo]' and a sarcastic congratulations to Cuomo for earning the former president's support.This rapid-response operation highlights a campaign ready for a street fight, framing the election not as a local contest but as a referendum on Trumpism itself. Cuomo, for his part, has performed a delicate dance, simultaneously embracing Trump's anti-Mamdani framing while vehemently rejecting the 'bad Democrat' label Trump assigned him.'Trump called me a bad Democrat? No I'm a good Democrat. A proud Democrat,' Cuomo fired back on X, attempting to reclaim his partisan credentials while making a firm pledge that 'ICE and the National Guard coming into New York City under my watch? Never.' This three-way political drama, playing out in the nation's media capital, carries implications far beyond the five boroughs. It serves as a testing ground for new political alliances in a post-party era, where traditional ideological lines are blurring and personal loyalties, or antipathies, are becoming the primary currency of power.The fact that Trump and Cuomo, who clashed bitterly during the COVID-19 pandemic when Cuomo was governor, have now found common cause against a perceived greater enemy in Mamdani reveals the fluid and often transactional nature of contemporary politics. For Republicans watching from Washington, a Cuomo victory engineered by Trump would provide a powerful blueprint for how to intervene in blue-state elections by amplifying internal Democratic divisions.For Democrats, it presents a nightmare scenario where their own former standard-bearer becomes a vessel for Republican influence. As voters prepare to cast their ballots, the entire political ecosystem is watching, understanding that the outcome will send shockwaves through the 2026 midterm strategy sessions already underway, where, as Axios exclusively reported, Republicans plan to 'weaponize' the specter of a Mamdani-style leftism nationwide. This is more than a mayoral race; it's a proxy war for the soul of the American electorate, and Trump has just fired the most consequential shot.

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#Donald Trump

#Andrew Cuomo

#Zohran Mamdani

#NYC mayor race

#endorsement

#election eve