Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday he does not want Republican President Donald Trump to get involved with “my race” for mayor, but would not condemn the possibility of the commander-in-chief offering Mayor Eric Adams a job to drop out of the contest — a move that would likely benefit the former governor.
Cuomo told reporters during a Sept. 4 news conference on Manhattan’s Upper West Side that he has “no idea” if several Wednesday reports that Trump has offered Adams a job in his administration in exchange for quitting the mayor’s race are “accurate.” Trump’s team is also weighing offering Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa a position, according to The New York Times, which first broke the story.
The former governor, a Democrat now running as an independent, insisted he does not want Trump’s help with his own candidacy, but declined to say he is against the president interfering with Adams’ or Sliwa’s.
“I don’t want him involved in anything with my race,” Cuomo said. “What Eric Adams chooses to do is up to Eric Adams. What Curtis Sliwa chooses to do is up to Curtis Sliwa.”
When amNewYork pressed him further on whether he would condemn such an action by Trump, Cuomo said, “I have nothing to do, it’s none of my business.”
“I decided to run in some races. I decided not to run in some races. That was my personal decision. Everybody has to make a personal decision,” he added.
Cuomo stands to benefit the most from Adams, who is also a Democrat on an independent line, dropping out of the crowded race, as he is polling in second place to Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani — a democratic socialist Queens Assembly member who handily beat Cuomo in the June Democratic primary.
Mamdani is polling at under 50% support in most surveys for the November general election. The anti-Mamdani vote is currently split between Cuomo, Adams, and Sliwa — therefore, getting those candidates to consolidate behind the strongest contender would be the best chance at overcoming the Democratic nominee.
Cuomo maintained the reports are “speculation” that he knows “nothing about.” He added he has not spoken to the president since at least summer, after a shooter tried to assassinate Trump on the campaign trail.
“I haven’t spoken to President Trump about it, I haven’t spoken to Mayor Adams about it and it’s speculation,” Cuomo said.
Mamdani has accused Cuomo of working with Trump behind the scenes to clear the field for his own benefit. His allegation stems from reports last month that Cuomo and Trump spoke over the phone about the race and that he predicted the president would push Republicans to vote for him over Sliwa during a Hamptons fundraiser.
Adams slams Times for report
Meanwhile, Adams — during an unrelated Thursday press conference — denied both the Times story and a Politico report that Trump’s administration specifically offered him a job with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He also took the opportunity to bash the Times.
“I’m surprised how standards of reporting at The New York Times have fallen so much,” Adams told reporters. “I’ve never asked for a job with HUD. I’ve never been promised a job with HUD. I have not communicated with the president. What I must do is what I have always said: stay focused, don’t get distracted by the sensationalism, run our city and keep it safe, and run for reelection.”
Adams is facing mounting pressure to drop out. On Thursday morning former Bronx City Council Member Ruben Diaz Sr., an Adams ally, convened a group of 100 ministers that unanimously agreed to call on the mayor to leave the race, according to Politico.
For his part, Sliwa said a job in the Trump administration is something that “I am not interested in, I don’t want.”
“I’m not leaving New York City,” he added. “I’m running for mayor as the Republican candidate.”
With reporting from Dean Moses.
