The battle lines between President Trump and two prominent New Yorkers were being solidified on Tuesday amid a fresh barrage of the president’s threats, provocations and distortions.
The New Yorkers — Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic front-runner for mayor, and Gov. Kathy Hochul — made their first joint appearance since she endorsed him last month.
Ms. Hochul praised Mr. Mamdani for “putting a special exclamation point on how hard it is for the families struggling in this city” and pledged to work with him to deliver universal child care next year. Then she told reporters that she would resist Mr. Trump’s threats to withhold federal funding from the city.
“I’ll fight like hell to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Ms. Hochul said.
A short time earlier, at the White House, Mr. Trump had characterized Mr. Mamdani as an inexperienced candidate who “practically hasn’t worked a day in his life.” He said, falsely, that Mr. Mamdani “wants to get rid of all police,” that he is a communist (he is a democratic socialist) and that he hates Jewish people (Mr. Mamdani is a critic of Israel, but has said repeatedly that he will not tolerate prejudice toward Jewish people).
The president repeated his threat to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding from New York City if Mr. Mamdani is elected and enacts policies he does not like.
“I wouldn’t be generous to a communist, a guy who is going to take the money and throw it out the window,” Mr. Trump said.
In portraying Mr. Mamdani as an extremist, the president was probably not referring to the candidate’s event with Ms. Hochul at a Boys and Girls Club in his district in Queens, where they announced new funding for youth programs. It was not a campaign event; Mr. Mamdani was there in his role as an Assembly member.
The event was carefully orchestrated. Mr. Mamdani and Ms. Hochul mostly stood apart, alongside other elected officials, and Mr. Mamdani stuck to the script, thanking Ms. Hochul for the investment. But there were also moments of warmth, and a hug.
Ms. Hochul took the opportunity to highlight one area where she wants to work with Mr. Mamdani: free universal child care for children under 5.
“I’ve had conversations with Assemblymember Mamdani about how we can get to universal child care, and I believe we can,” Ms. Hochul said.
Their joint appearance came one month after Ms. Hochul endorsed Mr. Mamdani while acknowledging that they disagree on some issues. It also came two days before the first debate in the general election, when Mr. Mamdani is expected to spar with former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who has a frosty relationship with Ms. Hochul.
The alliance between Mr. Mamdani and Ms. Hochul could carry risks and rewards for the governor, who is running for re-election next year. Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican and ally of President Trump who is expected to challenge Ms. Hochul, has repeatedly criticized the governor’s ties to Mr. Mamdani.
Ms. Stefanik posted a clip from Mr. Mamdani’s huge campaign rally on Monday night and attacked Ms. Hochul for endorsing a “Communist Defund the Police Antisemite” candidate whom she accused of making “vicious attacks on law enforcement officers.”
Ms. Hochul and Mr. Mamdani have forged an unlikely political alliance. Ms. Hochul, 67, is a moderate Democrat from Buffalo who has called for harsher criminal justice laws. Mr. Mamdani, 33, is a democratic socialist who called for defunding the police in 2020. But Ms. Hochul is a pragmatic leader and clearly sees some benefits to establishing a productive working relationship with the likely next mayor — and harnessing his voter base.
Ms. Hochul’s support will be key to carrying out Mr. Mamdani’s populist agenda, including free buses, and securing money to pay for his expensive policy ideas. Mr. Mamdani has called for tax increases on wealthy New Yorkers and corporations; the governor opposes tax increases.
Mr. Mamdani has been embraced by some Democratic leaders, including Letitia James, the state attorney general, who introduced him at his rally on Monday. Other Democrats have expressed concerns and declined to endorse him, including Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leaders of the U.S. House and Senate.
Mr. Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary, held his own event in Manhattan on Tuesday to ostensibly reintroduce aspects of his plan to accelerate the construction of affordable housing within 100 days of taking office. But he spent most of the 30-minute session cycling through critiques of Mr. Mamdani on issues ranging from housing to the war in Gaza.
The former governor, who is a staunch ally of Israel, also sought to steer the discussion toward the cease-fire between that country and Hamas.
He offered rare praise from a Democrat for Mr. Trump: “Politics is politics, but facts are facts, and what’s right is right,” he said. “It was a great achievement, and we hope it lasts.”
Mr. Cuomo criticized Mr. Mamdani and his allies for issuing statements that welcomed the cease-fire while continuing to criticize Israel for impinging on Palestinian land and rights.
“There’s a cease-fire, and the same day they shift to, basically, it’s not enough,” Mr. Cuomo said. (He declined to offer an opinion about how Israel and Palestinians should resolve their deeply entrenched differences after the cease-fire is fully in effect.)
Mr. Cuomo played down the joint appearance by Ms. Hochul and Mr. Mamdani. But he sought to highlight how the governor has opposed stances Mr. Mamdani has taken in the past, like his calls (since disavowed) to defund the police and his support for state legislation that would decriminalize prostitution.
“It’s her political decision,” Mr. Cuomo said. “Obviously everybody makes their political decisions.”
Ms. Hochul served as lieutenant governor under Mr. Cuomo and became governor after he resigned in 2021 following sexual harassment allegations that he has denied. Asked about Mr. Cuomo’s comments over her differences with Mr. Mamdani, Ms. Hochul called the assemblyman “an ally.”
“I believe he’s touched a nerve,” she said of Mr. Mamdani. “He’s created an energy around the will to focus on what will make New York City even more exceptional, and that is to make it more affordable.”
Emma G. Fitzsimmons is the City Hall bureau chief for The Times, covering Mayor Eric Adams and his administration.
Nicholas Fandos is a Times reporter covering New York politics and government.
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