NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- According to a report published this week by the New York Times, President Donald Trump is considering getting involved in the New York City mayoral election, speaking about the race directly with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo on an undisclosed call that occurred in recent weeks.
While the contents of the call are unknown, Mamdani slammed Cuomo for the decision to speak with Trump, stating the reported conversation is a "betrayal of everything we stand for as New Yorkers," and should be "disqualifying" in the election.
"It builds on a history that we have seen with this former governor," Mamdani said at a press conference Thursday. "A history of trying to hide that which he knows is offensive to the values of this city from the people of the city. We see that with this call itself."
When asked about the call, Cuomo said that he cannot even remember the last time he spoke with Trump.
"I get the whole gossip, and the intrigue, and President Trump, etcetera," Cuomo said. "I can't remember the last time I spoke to President Trump."
Cuomo said that he had reached out to Trump after a bullet struck his ear during an assassination attempt last summer while at a campaign event in Pennsylvania, but said he did not speak to him directly at that time.
"I've never spoken to him about the mayor's race. I have spoken to him when I was governor, dozens and dozens if not hundreds of times, right. We went through COVID together, I went to the White House on numerous occasions, so we had very intimate dealings on many levels, and many difficult, contentious confrontations, as you all know, because you were there," Cuomo said. "And we've also done productive work together, I believe."
The former governor said that if people are interested in "palace intrigue," they should look to candidates Mayor Eric Adams, who he called a "subsidiary" of Trump, and Curtis Sliwa, a Republican.
Mamdani on Thursday said that Trump's reported interest in the mayoral race comes from the "threat" his campaign, and the movement surrounding it, poses to the president.
"It showcases the way in which he has betrayed the very people that we are seeking to serve," Mamdani said. "He ran a campaign about affordability, he ran a campaign about cost of living. And those same New Yorkers, those same Americans, do not find the necessities of their life any more in reach than they were before the presidential election."
Cuomo, however, feels that the Queens assemblymember would not be able to hold his own against the forces in Washington.
"The Republicans would have a field day if New York City elected Mayor Mamdani," Cuomo said.
Adams, who is running his reelection campaign as an independent, appeared unfazed by the idea of a Trump endorsement for Cuomo.
"I've learned in this business of elected official, you could have as many endorsements as you want," the mayor said. "It's what you do on the ground."