President Trump urged Republican voters in New York Metropolis late Monday to cross social gathering strains and help Andrew Cuomo for mayor as a part of an eleventh hour bid to cease Democratic front-runner Zohran Mamdani from taking on the reins at Metropolis Corridor.
“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,” Trump wrote in a submit on his Reality Social platform simply over 12 hours earlier than New Yorkers have been set to start out heading to the polls for Tuesday’s mayoral election.
The Republican president’s phrases of help come as Cuomo, who’s working as an impartial candidate and trailing Mamdani by double digits in most polls, has within the closing days of the race targeted closely on making an attempt to enchantment to GOP voters.
Cuomo, a life-long registered Democrat, has pleaded with native Republicans to help him and never “waste” their vote on GOP mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa, who has polled in third place, typically with round 15% help.
In his Reality Social submit, Trump echoed the identical theme, writing that, “a vote for Curtis Sliwa (who looks much better without the beret!) is a vote for Mamdani.”
Requested for a response to Trump’s jab, Sliwa targeted on earlier feedback the president has made about Cuomo.
In his Reality Social submit, the president additionally went on intensive tear in opposition to Mamdani, writing that he’d create a “Total Economic and Social Disaster” for the town earlier than reiterating a menace to strip New York of federal funding if Mamdani wins.
“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!” he wrote. “It can only get worse with a Communist at the helm, and I don’t want to send, as President, good money after bad.”
Mamdani is a democratic socialist.
Minutes after Trump’s tweet, Cuomo appeared on billionaire Republican businessman John Catsimatidis’ 77ABC radio present and stated “the president is right” to label a vote for Sliwa pointless.
“Now it’s going to be up to the Republicans, and I hope they listen to the president,” Cuomo instructed Catsimatidis, who’s a serious donor to Trump.
All through this 12 months’s mayoral marketing campaign, Cuomo has stated he wouldn’t settle for a mayoral endorsement from Trump. After Cuomo’s radio present look, his spokesman Wealthy Azzopardi stated the ex-governor’s feedback relating to the influence of a Sliwa vote didn’t quantity to accepting Trump’s help.
Mamdani, talking to reporters at a canvassing launch in Queens, stated Trump’s help for Cuomo didn’t shock him, citing the truth that quite a lot of rich Trump donors have lined up behind Cuomo.
“I did not, however, anticipate Andrew Cuomo going from being Donald Trump’s puppet to being so nakedly his parrot. What he has said in these last few days, these are words that should shock the conscience of New Yorkers,” Mamdani stated, pointing particularly to a remark Cuomo made on tv over the weekend about how he believes demographic “diversity can be a weakness” in society.
Trump is extensively disliked in overwhelmingly Democratic New York Metropolis, and it might be a politically dangerous transfer for Cuomo to be seen as too carefully related to the divisive commander-in-chief.
On the similar time, Trump stays influential with Republicans throughout the nation, together with in New York, and his last-minute provide of help for Cuomo might assist him make inroads with GOP voters.
Voting was set to start out at 6 a.m. Tuesday and proceed via 9 p.m. Greater than 730,000 New Yorkers have already voted early previous to Tuesday.
