NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Former Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that he doesn’t think former Gov. Andrew Cuomo should be mayor—prompting a blistering response from Cuomo's camp, who referred to de Blasio as "the least popular mayor in New York City's history."
Asked by NY1 reporter Jillian Jorgensen for his thoughts on Cuomo running for mayor, de Blasio gave a candid response about his old rival.
“I don’t think he should be mayor,” de Blasio said, before adding with a chuckle, “There you go, thank you.”
In a statement reacting to de Blasio's comment, Cuomo spokesperson Jason Elan referred to de Blasio as "the least popular mayor in New York City's history."
Elan's statement said: "New Yorkers know it was Governor Cuomo who raised wages for millions, passed the strongest paid family leave and gun violence prevention laws in the nation and built the Second Avenue Subway, the Moynihan Train Station and the new Kosciuszko Bridge, La Guardia and JFK airports and filled the leadership void during COVID. This city is in crisis and Governor Cuomo is the only person in this race with the experience to lead the proven record of results and that’s why he has built a broad coalition of support that reflects our great city and is leading in every borough, and with every race and gender."
"We'll gladly take the support of our powerhouse union allies like HTC and 32BJ SEIU, nearly 30 current and former elected officials, 50 clergy members, and the 64% of New Yorkers polled this week who said they would support us over the least popular mayor in New York City's history," the statement continued.
De Blasio made the comment about Cuomo after an event with Mayor Eric Adams, who proposed $167 million in annual funding to expand early childhood education in the city. The universal Pre-K and 3-K programs are often seen as one of de Blasio's greatest legacies.
De Blasio sidestepped the question during the press conference with Adams, but he answered it when asked later, and also said he wasn't endorsing anyone in the Democratic primary.
De Blasio and Cuomo had a famously tumultuous relationship during their tenures and frequently clashed—often very publicly—on various issues like affordable housing, public education and mass transit.
The feud came to a crescendo when Cuomo got caught in the scandal that led to his resignation in 2021, with de Blasio saying at a press conference at the time that Cuomo “used his power in a very Machiavellian way, he bullied people, he got his way—way too often.”
“Just get the hell out of the way,” de Blasio said at the time. “Maybe he could close off his career with one act of dignity and decency and just step aside.”
Speaking about his time in office after Wednesday's press conference, de Blasio told reporters: “Some of you may have noticed I didn’t get along with the governor I served with most of the time. I’m forgetting his name right now. But he definitely was governor for a period of time when I served.”