Independent candidate for the New York mayoral election, Andrew Cuomo, has warned that a win for his main opponent, the Democrat Zohran Mamdani, would give the excuse for President Donald Trump to take over the city. Mamdani is the perceived frontrunner in the elections scheduled for November 4, and he is up against former New York Governor Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who was also in the race for re-election, dropped his bid last week, amid reports that the Trump administration could offer him an attractive post, to ensure that anti-Mamdani votes are not split. 'Gift for Trump' Speaking to ABC on Monday, Cuomo said a Mamdani win would be a "gift" to President Trump. "It's good for Donald Trump because it's the excuse he needs to take over New York, which he has said he will do," Cuomo said. "Going into the midterms, [Trump] will take a picture of Mamdani around the country and say, 'Here’s what happened to the Democrats. They are now communists. They hate the police, they legalized prostitution, legalized drugs,'" Cuomo warned. FILE - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo attends a ceremony at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, Aug. 3, 2020 at the World Trade Center in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) Cuomo vs Trump during COVID-19 Cuomo, who resigned as New York Governor in August 2021, amid sexual harassment allegations, said he was the "last person" that Trump wants as mayor of New York. During the COVID-19 pandemic, then-President Trump and Cuomo had regularly fought over lockdown, mask mandate, and more. "During COVID, I was the governor, he was the president. We fought on a daily basis. He came with all his threats and all his power and might, threatened to put me in jail, had me investigated twice by the Department of Justice, threatened to cut off federal funds," Cuomo said. Mamdani's rise in the Democratic Party 33-year-old Mamdani, a New York State Assemblyman, shocked a section of the Democratic Party earlier this year when the self-proclaimed social democrat won the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City. New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks at a rally with Hotel & Gaming Trades Council workers, in New York, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File) Born in Uganda to Indian-origin Hindu-Muslim parents, Mamdani came to the US at the age of seven and became a US citizen in 2018. Many in the Democratic Party had expressed apprehensions over backing Mamdani, whom the Republicans, including Trump, have repeatedly branded as a Communist.
