For weeks, President Trump has said things strongly suggesting that he would prefer that Andrew M. Cuomo, the former governor, win the New York City mayor’s race.
He has mocked Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and front-runner, calling him a “liddle communist” (he is a democratic socialist). And the president has made a point of deriding Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate, whom Mr. Cuomo has tried to push out of the race so he could reap more of the Republican vote.
Finally, on Monday evening, hours before Election Day, Mr. Trump made it official.
“It is my obligation to run the Nation, and it is my strong conviction that New York City will be a Complete and Total Economic and Social Disaster should Mamdani win,” the president wrote in a social media post. As he has done in the past, Mr. Trump threatened to withhold federal funds “other than the very minimum as required” from the city, his hometown, if Mr. Mamdani is elected.
“I would much rather see a Democrat, who has had a Record of Success, WIN,” he wrote, referring to Mr. Cuomo, a three-term governor, “than a Communist with no experience and a Record of COMPLETE AND TOTAL FAILURE.”
“Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice,” Mr. Trump wrote. “You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!”
Mr. Trump also said, “We must also remember this — A vote for Curtis Sliwa (who looks much better without the beret!) is a vote for Mamdani,” referring to the red hat Mr. Sliwa wears as the founder of the citizen patrol group the Guardian Angels.
In a radio interview on WABC about half an hour after Mr. Trump published his post, Mr. Cuomo said, “The president is right.”
“A vote for Sliwa is a vote for Mamdani,” he said, suggesting that Mr. Sliwa was selfish for staying in the race. “That’s why this election is up to the Republicans.”
Mr. Cuomo, who has a long, tangled history with the president, has long argued that only he can stand toe-to-toe with Mr. Trump. The president, a Republican, is still widely disliked in the city.
Mr. Mamdani, for his part, has sought to link Mr. Cuomo to Mr. Trump throughout the campaign, noting that they have some of the same big-money donors.
“This is absolutely the nail in the coffin for Andrew Cuomo,” said Dora Pekec, a spokeswoman for the Mamdani campaign.
At a campaign event in Astoria, Queens, Mr. Mamdani said that he had known “for months” that Mr. Trump would back Mr. Cuomo.
“In these final days, what was rumored, what was feared, has become naked and unabashed,” he said. “The MAGA movement’s embrace of Andrew Cuomo is reflective of Donald Trump’s understanding that this would be the best mayor for him — not the best mayor for New York City, not the best mayor for New Yorkers, but the best mayor for Donald Trump and his administration.”
Dana Rubinstein covers New York City politics and government for The Times.
Michael Gold covers Congress for The Times, with a focus on immigration policy and congressional oversight.
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