Zohran Mamdani likely to be New York’s next mayor unless 2 of his opponents quit race, says Trump

“I don’t think you can win unless you have one-on-one, and somehow he’s gotten a little bit of a lead,” Trump spoke highly of Mamdani, adding, “I have no idea how that happened,” AP quoted.

Trump’s comments came as he hosted a dinner at the White House with tech executives. He said, “I would like to see two people drop out and have it be one-on-one, and I think that’s a race that could be won.”

Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist, has emerged as the presumptive favourite in the mayoral primary elections since he beat former governor Andrew Cuomo in June this year.

But Cuomo is still on the ballot as an independent candidate, as is incumbent Mayor Eric Adams. Joining those three Democrats in the field is Republican Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group, as per AP report.

Eric Adams’ campaign

On a recent trip to Miami, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams met with Steve Witkoff, a former real estate developer in New York who is now one of Trump’s main diplomatic envoys in Washington, according to one of the people briefed during conversations with AP.

Adams acknowledged meeting with “several political figures” on his Florida trip, which he said was to “deal with some personal issues.” But he has repeatedly insisted he won’t quit.

Adams reiterated his intention of staying in the race on Thursday, adding that he wasn’t bothered by growing calls for him to end his campaign.

“No pressure, no diamonds,” Adams told reporters at an event touting an endorsement from some Muslim leaders.

“Just because people yell at you and call your names, and just because a number of people ask you to step down or don’t do what you believe, you’re supposed to succumb to that? That’s not what I do.”

Adams’ campaign was deeply wounded when he was indicted on corruption charges last year, then developed a warm relationship with Trump that bothered many Democrats in one of the country’s most liberal cities.

There was further backlash from Democrats after the Justice Department said it was dropping the case so that Adams could assist with Trump’s immigration crackdown.

At a news conference on Thursday, Cuomo also called on Adams to drop out.

“If Mamdani is the existential threat, if you believe that, then at a point you should defer to the strongest candidates,” Cuomo said.

Republican Curtis Sliwa’s comments

Republican Curtis Sliwa, meanwhile, has cast himself as the best candidate to take on Mamdani.

“The assumption here is that Eric Adams’ voters, if he does drop out, are all going to jump to Cuomo. That ain’t happening,” Sliwa said in an interview, quoted by AP.

“There’s a lot of anger toward Cuomo. They’ve been going back and forth like two scorpions in a brandy glass.” Sliwa added that he too won’t be quitting, and said no one from the Trump administration had reached out yet to urge him to do so.

“I can assure you for 9,852th time in this campaign I’ve had to answer this: I’m not dropping out. I’m in it until November 4,” he said.

“I don’t care if people drop out. I’d encourage them to stay in. Let the people decide. That’s what democracy is about, a vote.”