Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, now running as an independent candidate for New York City mayor, reportedly claimed Monday that President Donald Trump secretly wants Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani to win November’s general election — arguing that such an outcome would help the president politically and justify federal intervention in the city.
In an interview on ABC’s “The View,” Cuomo rejected the idea that Trump would benefit from his own victory, insisting that the president would prefer a far-left Democrat leading New York. “He wants Mamdani. Two reasons,” Cuomo said. “One, going into the midterms, he will take a picture of Mamdani, run around the country and say, ‘Here’s what happened to the Democrats. They are now communists. They hate the police. They legalize prostitution, legalize drugs. They want to elect this Democrat, no experience whatsoever, being mayor of New York would be his first real job.’”
Cuomo also suggested that Trump might use Mamdani’s potential win as a pretext to impose tighter federal control over New York. “Second move, it’s good for Donald Trump,” Cuomo continued, “because it’s the excuse he needs to take over New York, which he said he will do.”
Trump has in the past floated the idea of deploying federal resources to cities run by Democrats, citing public safety and mismanagement concerns.
In recent remarks, he warned that a Mamdani administration would further accelerate the city’s decline, while benefiting his own political argument that progressive governance has failed urban America.
“A victory for Mamdani would be one of the best things to ever happen to our great Republican Party,” Trump wrote last month on his Truth Social platform. He added that if Mamdani were to become mayor, “He is going to have problems with Washington like no mayor in the history of our once great city. Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his fake communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?”
Trump’s statement underscored the sharp ideological divide shaping the race for New York’s top office. Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist and state assemblyman from Queens, has built his campaign around sweeping progressive policies — from defunding police units to expanding public housing and legalizing sex work. Cuomo, meanwhile, has positioned himself as a centrist alternative, arguing that his executive experience and pragmatic approach make him the only candidate capable of governing a city facing fiscal and crime crises.
Mamdani fired back at both men, accusing Trump of meddling and Cuomo of exploiting the moment. “Trump is going through the many stages of grief,” Mamdani said. “First, it’s denial that this could ever take place. Now it’s acceptance, and still, through it all, he is looking to use every tool at his disposal to help Andrew Cuomo become the next mayor of this city.”
The escalating rhetoric between Cuomo, Mamdani, and Trump reflects the broader political tensions gripping New York — a city struggling with crime, homelessness, and budget shortfalls, and now emerging as a microcosm of the national debate over whether voters prefer progressive upheaval or a return to pragmatic governance.
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