New York City’s mayoral race has rarely been short on drama, but this year’s contest has taken on the air of a political thriller, with former Governor Andrew Cuomo at the center of a storm over alleged backroom dealings and speculation about President Donald Trump’s potential role in the outcome. The race, which pits Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, independent Andrew Cuomo, Republican Curtis Sliwa, and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams (also running as an independent), has become a battleground not just for the city’s future, but for the soul of its political identity.
It all began simmering over the weekend of August 16-17, 2025, when Cuomo addressed donors at a Hamptons fundraiser. According to Politico, Cuomo told the crowd, “Trump himself, as well as top Republicans, will say the goal is to stop Mamdani. And you’ll be wasting your vote on Sliwa. So I feel good about that.” These comments, captured on audio and widely reported, sparked immediate outrage and set off a cascade of accusations and denials that have dominated headlines ever since.
Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani in June, has insisted he was merely speculating about Trump’s possible involvement. “We’re not asking for or expecting help from anyone,” Cuomo’s spokesperson Rich Azzopardi told The Independent on August 19. He stressed that Cuomo was responding to a hypothetical and that there had been no discussions with Trump about the race. Both Cuomo and Trump have publicly denied reports from The New York Times that they had held a call about the election.
Despite these denials, Cuomo’s remarks have fueled persistent questions about his intentions and strategy. At the same Hamptons fundraiser, he reportedly said, “Let’s put it this way: I knew the president very well. I believe there will be opportunities to actually cooperate with him. I also believe that he’s not going to want to fight with me in New York if he can avoid it,” as cited by Politico. That openness to a friendlier relationship with Trump, should Cuomo become mayor, has only intensified scrutiny from his opponents.
Zohran Mamdani, the surprise winner of the Democratic primary and current frontrunner in the polls, has not minced words in his response. Rallying with hotel workers on the Upper East Side on August 20, Mamdani condemned Cuomo’s reported overtures to Trump. “To speak to that administration with the intent of subverting the will of Democratic voters, it speaks to what you are comfortable with, what you are willing to coordinate with,” Mamdani said, according to WABC. “What we want in New York is courage.”
Mamdani’s campaign has gone further, with spokesperson Dora Pekec telling Politico: “Since he’s too afraid to say it to New Yorkers’ faces, we’ll make it clear: Andrew Cuomo is Donald Trump’s choice for mayor.” Mamdani himself has accused Cuomo of planning “planned election fraud” and declared, “Andrew Cuomo is Donald Trump’s candidate,” as reported by blue News on August 21.
The numbers, at least for now, seem to favor Mamdani. An August 11 poll by Gotham Polling & Analytics for AARP showed Mamdani with 41.8% of the vote, Cuomo at 23.4%, Sliwa at 16.5%, and Adams at 8.8%. A similar survey cited by Politico put Mamdani at 42%, with Cuomo trailing behind. These figures reflect Mamdani’s status as the left-wing favorite, buoyed by strong support in the city’s working-class districts and a recent feature in Time magazine that described him as the hope of the exhausted left.
But the race is far from settled. Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee and longtime radio host, has seized on the controversy to position himself as the only true alternative. “He’s in The Hamptons on the weekends, talking to Democrats who support Republicans, telling them, ‘Oh, no, no, no, Trump’s going to support me.’ Then he comes back into the city, says, ‘No, no, no, I’ll be the guy to take on Trump.’ I’m serious,” Sliwa told WABC. His media director, Maria Sliwa, was even more blunt, telling The Independent: “It’s just sad that Andrew Cuomo thinks a Trump headline will save him. If he actually left the Hamptons, he’d see that New Yorkers regret everything he stands for, from being the architect of crime with his disastrous no-bail law to his failed COVID policies that devastated families. His campaign is a mess, and desperate people do desperate things.”
Mayor Eric Adams, meanwhile, has not let the moment pass without weighing in. Opening a campaign office in Harlem on August 20, Adams emphasized his accomplishments around housing, jobs, and public safety. But he too took a swipe at Cuomo, reportedly calling him “an embarrassing loser who couldn’t even beat a socialist,” as quoted in blue News. Adams himself faces challenges, with new corruption charges swirling around associates including Ingrid Lewis-Martin, but he remains defiant: “I’ve done it,” Adams said. “I’m doing it, and I’m going to do it again.”
Public safety and affordability have dominated the campaign’s final stretch. Mamdani has made clear he would not hire more police officers, instead focusing on addressing the root causes of crime, particularly gun violence. “The aggressive tactics I’ve taken issues with, are ones that have run afoul of the law,” Mamdani said during an August 20 press conference, as reported by PIX11. He pointed to the city’s crisis management system, which he claims has reduced shootings by 40% in precincts where it’s been implemented, though it currently covers only half the city.
Cuomo’s campaign has pushed back hard on Mamdani’s agenda, with his spokesperson accusing Mamdani of “deflecting” from his “consistent support for decriminalizing prostitution, defunding police, handcuffing them from responding to domestic violence calls, and replacing them with super social workers, and his nonsensical plans to waste millions of dollars on Soviet-style bare-shelf grocery stores that have failed everywhere they’ve been tried.”
As for Trump himself, the former president has not publicly endorsed any candidate as of August 19, 2025. While he has made no secret of his opposition to Mamdani, threatening earlier this year to arrest him if he defied federal immigration raids, Trump’s actual involvement in the race remains, at least officially, on the sidelines.
With just over two months until election day, the city’s political landscape remains in flux. The alliances, accusations, and shifting strategies have left voters with a dizzying array of choices—and no shortage of intrigue. In a race where speculation and reality seem to blur, one thing is clear: New York’s next mayor will inherit a city at a crossroads, and the path to victory is anything but straightforward.
