US President Donald Trump on Monday clarified that he is endorsing Andrew Cuomo in Tuesday’s New York City mayoral election race.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump warned that New York City would face severe federal funding cuts if Zohran Mamdani were to win the election.
“If Communist Candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the Election for Mayor of New York City, it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required, to my beloved first home, because of the fact that, as a Communist, this once great City has ZERO chance of success, or even survival! It can only get worse with a Communist at the helm, and I don’t want to send, as President, good money after bad,” wrote Trump.
He added, “It is my obligation to run the Nation, and it is my strong conviction that New York City will be a Complete and Total Economic and Social Disaster should Mamdani win. His principles have been tested for over a thousand years, and never once have they been successful. I would much rather see a Democrat, who has had a Record of Success, WIN, than a Communist with no experience and a Record of COMPLETE AND TOTAL FAILURE. He was nothing as an Assemblyman, ranked at the bottom of the class and, as Mayor of potentially, again, the Greatest City in the World, HE HAS NO CHANCE to bring it back to its former Glory!”
Turning to his endorsement of Cuomo, who is running as an independent, over Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, Trump wrote, “We must also remember this - A vote for Curtis Sliwa (who looks much better without the beret!) is a vote for Mamdani. Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!”
Mamdani has led in the polling despite his anti-Israel stance, for which he has come under fire. This includes his criticism of Israel on October 8, 2023 - just one day after the Hamas massacre in southern Israel, as well as his refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada”.
He also recently declared that he would stop using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s working definition of antisemitism.
In addition, Mamdani has repeatedly accused Israel of war crimes in its battle against Hamas in Gaza, and has vowed to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York City, citing the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu - even though the US is not a member of the ICC.
A new poll released earlier Monday showed Cuomo closing in on Mamdani just one day before the general election.
According to the survey, Mamdani leads with 43.9% of voter support, while Cuomo trails closely at 39.4%. Sliwa remains in third place with 15.5%, and just over 1% of respondents are undecided or plan not to vote.
In a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, Cuomo overtakes Mamdani with 49.7% to 44.1%.