Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and front-runner in the race for New York City mayor, mocked his chief rival, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, after President Trump offered Mr. Cuomo tepid support in the final days of the race.
In an interview that aired on CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday, Mr. Trump said that if he had to choose between Mr. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, and Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat running as an independent, he would support Mr. Cuomo.
“I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or another, but if it’s going to be between a bad Democrat and a communist,” Mr. Trump said, falsely claiming that Mr. Mamdani is a communist, “I’m going to pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you.”
Mr. Mamdani has sought for months to portray Mr. Cuomo, whom he defeated in the Democratic primary in June, as Mr. Trump’s choice for mayor, calling him a puppet and parrot of the president.
Mr. Trump had publicly urged Mr. Cuomo, who is running as independent, to stay in the race shortly after his primary loss and spoke privately about the race with Mr. Cuomo.
Mr. Cuomo has denied any allegiance to Mr. Trump, and has argued that he, not Mr. Mamdani, would be better prepared to stand up to the president — all while courting Mr. Trump’s supporters as he seeks to win Republicans’ votes.
Soon after the “60 Minutes” interview aired, Mr. Mamdani jumped on Mr. Trump’s comments.
“Congratulations, Andrew Cuomo,” he wrote on social media. “I know how hard you worked for this.”
Mr. Mamdani addressed the topic again on Monday morning after he led a sunrise walk across the Brooklyn Bridge into Lower Manhattan, before holding a news conference outside City Hall.
“The answer to a Donald Trump presidency is not to create its mirror image here in City Hall,” he said. “It is to create an alternative that can speak to what New Yorkers are so desperate to see in their own city and what they find in themselves and their neighbors every day — a city that believes in the dignity of everyone who calls this place home.”
No longer a New York City resident, Mr. Trump has remained focused on the city and its politics, and its race for mayor in particular. He has declined to support Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee for mayor, whom he derided as “not exactly prime-time.”
Emma G. Fitzsimmons contributed reporting.
Matthew Haag is a Times reporter covering the New York City economy and the intersection of real estate and politics in the region.
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