Speculation has reached a fever pitch over the past week that President Trump’s allies are seeking to clear the field in the New York City mayoral race for Andrew Cuomo, raising questions about why the president’s orbit might side with a longtime foe.
The New York Times reported Friday that Trump adviser Steve Witkoff met with Adams in Florida to discuss his future this week during a trip that Adams’s spokesperson indicated was just to celebrate his birthday. Adams announced later that day that he would stay in the race.
Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, who has been the subject of speculation that he might receive a job so he’ll drop out, has been even more consistent that he’s not interested in working for the White House and is staying in the race.
But the reports nonetheless have put a spotlight on Trump allies’ apparent efforts to coalesce support around Cuomo as he tries to defeat progressive candidate Zohran Mamdani in November.
“It seems to be what’s swimming out here is, in terms of Trump world’s decision making, is that Donald Trump views stopping Mamdani as what’s in his eyes is best for New York,” said Democratic strategist Trip Yang. “So this is a very unusual intervention by a sitting president in a mayoral race.”
The Trump team’s apparent intervention in the New York City race could at first glance be seen as a surprise. Some Republicans see a clear upside to Mamdani winning in November, as his growing profile and progressive platform make him an easy boogeyman ahead of the midterms. Indeed, the GOP has been eager to tie Democrats to Mamdani since the progressive candidate stunned the country by defeating Cuomo in the Democratic primary earlier this year.
In a sign of how tricky the politics are for Democrats, several top party leaders like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) have withheld their endorsements for Mamdani, saying they’re having conversations with him but not formally declaring their support, at least yet.
But if various reports are true, Trump has seemed not to be interested in that path and has instead wanted to help stop Mamdani from becoming mayor.
Trump told reporters on Thursday that he’d like to see two of the remaining four candidates drop out to have the best chance of defeating Mamdani. He didn’t specify which candidates he wanted to exit but said another candidate could win a one-on-one race.
But a series of reports came out over the past several days indicating at least some members of the administration have been discussing ways to get Adams and Sliwa out of the race. That would give Cuomo, who has been polling in second place, the best chance of coalescing support and pulling off an upset win.
Trump and Cuomo often clashed during Trump’s first term as president while Cuomo was serving as New York governor. That seemingly continued as Trump’s Justice Department launched an investigation into Cuomo in the spring over his testimony before Congress about his COVID-19 policies as governor.
But the Times reported weeks ago that Trump was considering getting involved in the race and asked allies about which candidate would have the best chance of beating Mamdani; they told him Cuomo.
The Times also reported that Trump and Cuomo spoke about the mayor’s race by phone, which Cuomo denies. The former governor-turned-mayoral candidate said on Thursday in response to reports that Trump wanted to help him that he hasn’t sought and wouldn’t accept Trump’s endorsement in the race.
“I don’t want him involved in anything to do with my race,” Cuomo said.
But even if any alleged ties between Trump and Cuomo are unverified, Trump wanting him to win would be quite a turnaround from years prior and shows the personal connection Trump has to the city. While he’s now a Florida resident, Trump’s entire business career rose in New York, and he first ran in 2016 as a New York resident.
“Sometimes the president is adversarial towards New York, but it is his home, and again, it is the cornerstone of a family business and the family empire,” said New York Democratic strategist Jon Reinish.
“He and his family certainly have, as well as business leaders who work with him in whatever capacity, are concerned about the viability of New York City,” he added. “So it’s not just politics.”
Critics of Mamdani have argued that his proposals would be unrealistic and unaffordable, hurting the city’s economy. Mamdani has maintained that they can be done and the wealthy are advancing this argument to keep the status quo.
The reports notably haven’t mentioned Trump himself being involved in the conversations, and Adams had said in a statement that he hadn’t spoken to Trump specifically about a role.
Possible roles for Adams were reported to be in the Department of Housing and Urban Development or as ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Trump said he hasn’t offered Adams an ambassadorship.
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment on the reports of the conversations about Adams.
Some Democrats said any indication of Trump’s involvement in the race in the heavily Democratic city would be toxic given his deep unpopularity.
“The Trump stench is really going to hurt [Cuomo],” Yang said.
“It’s going to be a huge factor because it’s so obvious,” said George Albro, a co-chair of the New York Progressive Action Network, despite some amount of distance Trump seems to be trying to keep.
But Reinish cast some doubt about how much Trump will be top of mind for voters concerned about the local issues like safety on the subway and the quality of their children’s education.
“I would think that Mamdani would try to seize on this and basically try to make this about the president,” he said. “However, the president is not going to be the next mayor of New York, and that’s what New Yorkers have to decide, but it is a wild card factor.”
Mamdani and his allies have taken the opportunity to tie Cuomo to Trump, a strategy that his allies hope will be effective in a city where Trump has consistently been disliked.
“When Trump, Cuomo and Adams scheme behind closed doors, they’re not worried about your future or the city you’re struggling to afford,” he said in a post on X. “It’s only about their own power.”
Mamdani challenged Trump to a debate on Thursday, saying he wants to cut out the “middle man.”
“If @realDonaldTrump is serious about intervening in the mayoral race, he should come to New York City and debate me directly,” he said on X.
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