NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo shifted from his historically fierce defense of Israel, recalibrating his messaging ahead of New York City’s mayoral election after his defeat in the Democratic primary.
Cuomo, who served as legal counsel to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said in an interview Tuesday that the vote for Zohran Mamdani, an outspoken critic of the Jewish state, signified a shift in how some New York Democrats view the actions of the Israeli government.
“It gets into a nuance that we have not discussed,” he said. “Do I support what the Israel government is doing vis-à-vis Gaza? No. Do I support Israel impeding humanitarian aid? No.”
Still, Cuomo condemned the rise in antisemitism, one of his main talking points during his primary campaign.
“Does that justify antisemitic activity in New York City against Jewish people? No, right? But now it’s a finer line in the discussion.”
The new tone marks a subtle shift in Cuomo’s language around Israel. He said at an event at a Hamptons synagogue last month that Mamdani’s supporters “are pro-Palestinian and they don’t consider it being anti-Israel,” the Forward reported.
The former governor lost by more than 13 points to Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist and state lawmaker from Queens — a defeat Cuomo referred to as “shocking.”
In 2024, Cuomo joined the legal team defending Netanyahu against the arrest warrant issued for him by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Gaza. At the time, he said he was “proud to be on the legal defense for the prime minister,” the New York Post reported. By contrast, Mamdani has said if he’s elected mayor, he would arrest Netanyahu if he came to New York.
Cuomo said during the primary campaign that antisemitism was “the most important issue” in the election and had bet that New York voters would reject Mamdani in a city home to the largest population of Jews outside of Israel.
But Cuomo said Tuesday he would be more nuanced in his messaging on the subject, moving away from what he called a “binary” conversation. He distinguished between supporting Israel and opposing antisemitism versus approving of the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza.
During the primary, pro-Palestinian voters interpreted Cuomo’s pro-Israel stance as supporting “Bibi Netanyahu’s positions,” he said Tuesday.
Mamdani has also shifted his language around the Israel-Gaza conflict, telling a group of business leaders last month he would “discourage the use” of the phrase “globalize the intifada” after earlier refusing to condemn it. The phrase is a reference to the armed Palestinian uprisings against Israel.
More Aggressive
After the loss, Cuomo, 67, vowed to stay in the race and is running on an independent ballot line he created called “Fight and Deliver.”
He’s hired new digital media strategists and has been conducting more interviews and making more public appearances, after remaining largely out of public view during the primary.
“I changed it up a lot,” he said. “I’m much more aggressive, I guess you could say, in making my positive case, and critiquing Mamdani’s agenda.”
Former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, endorsed Cuomo in the primary and has contributed to a PAC supporting his candidacy.
Cuomo resigned as governor four years ago amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment, which he denies.
Cuomo’s decision to remain in the race came even as some of his backers, who had helped pump more than $25 million into his campaign and the PAC, said they were pivoting support toward incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who became the first New York mayor in modern history to be indicted on federal corruption charges last year.
The charges were later dropped by the Trump administration, leading to accusations that the mayor is now beholden to the Republican president. Adams has repeatedly denied the allegations.
“First response was, ‘He Lost! Oh my gosh, he was supposed to win. He lost. I’m very worried about this socialist who might be mayor and Andrew lost — I’m disappointed. Let’s go to Eric Adams,’” Cuomo said.
Polls since the primary show Cuomo ahead of Adams, indicating that the initial loss of support wasn’t rational, he said.
“It is emotion versus logic,” Cuomo said.
Still, Cuomo has agreed to drop out of the race if he’s not the highest-polling challenger to Mamdani.
In recent days Cuomo has been sharply critical of Mamdani’s past positions on the NYPD, including calls to defund the police. While Mamdani has since moderated that stance, his platform calls for reducing police overtime and would eliminate the department’s Strategic Response Group, a small unit that responds to fast-moving incidents like last week’s mass shooting at 345 Park Ave.
The incident, in which a gunman killed four people in the heart of Manhattan before taking his own life, “was a wake-up call,” Cuomo said.
“Yes, we have affordability issues. Yes, we have income inequality. But let’s not forget New York City is a target,” he said.
Cuomo, who has praised the New York Police Department’s response to the shooting, said he hoped current Commissioner Jessica Tisch would remain in her role.
“I think she’s doing a good job,” he said. “I would like to see her stay.”
Asked whether he considered Adams or Mamdani a bigger existential threat to the future of New York, Cuomo said, “I don’t know, but I don’t want to find out.”
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