Trump threatens New York City funding if Mamdani wins mayor’s race after Adams bows out

New York Mayor Eric Adams shook up the hotly contested battle to run the largest US city, bowing out of his struggling re-election campaign and giving fresh impetus to former Governor Andrew Cuomo. Adams quit on Sunday amid faltering poll numbers and a struggle to raise money. His exit was long speculated by some and sought out by others who hoped the race would narrow to benefit Cuomo’s chances against front runner Zohran Mamdani. On Monday, US President Donald Trump weighed in by declaring on Truth Social that Mamdani’s victory would be “one of the best things to ever happen to our great Republican Party”. He added that the Democrat will have unprecedented issues with Washington and threatened to deny federal funds to the city if Mamdani wins. “Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises,” Trump posted on his social media site. “He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?” Multiple polls had shown Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, likely to win the election in November – in most cases by double digits in a four-way race against Cuomo, Adams and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. Adams has consistently polled in last place, with Cuomo in second. Some potential donors concerned about Mamdani, a democratic socialist, have been waiting to see if the field consolidates behind fewer candidates before choosing to write cheques. After Adams announced plans to drop out, several donors reached out to representatives of Fix the City, a political action committee (PAC) backing Cuomo’s candidacy, to discuss giving to the PAC, a person familiar with the conversations said. It is unclear whether Adams’ decision will fundamentally alter the outcome with a little over a month until election day. Even if every voter who had planned to cast a ballot for Adams decided to vote for Cuomo, it would not be enough to overcome Mamdani’s current polling advantages, according to strategists and pollsters. “If it had happened a few weeks or a few months ago, it would have represented a real sea change. It would have been a real shot in the arm for Andrew Cuomo’s effort to beat Mamdani,” said Evan Roth Smith, a founding partner at Slingshot Strategies. A September 16 Marist poll found that Mamdani’s lead over Cuomo, who is running on an independent ballot line, shrinks by a few percentage points in a situation in which Adams drops from the race. But Mamdani would still win by 16 points, the poll found. Mamdani, 33, posted a video responding to Adams’ decision and quickly turning it to Cuomo. “Andrew Cuomo, you got your wish,” Mamdani said. “You wanted Trump and your billionaire friends to help you clear the field. “But don’t forget, you wanted me as your opponent in the primary, too. And we beat you by 13 points. Looking forward to doing it again on November 4. Hope you’re well.” Adams, 65, also missed a September 11 deadline to have his name removed from the ballot, so it will still appear as a possible choice for voters despite his decision to drop out. Some polls have shown Cuomo, 67, stands a better chance of competing with Mamdani in a head-to-head contest, a hypothetical scenario that would require Sliwa to drop out. But Sliwa has repeatedly insisted he will not bow out, despite repeated entreaties. “They have come up with all kinds of ways to get me out of the race. And truly the only way would be if something unfortunate happened to me, like me being hit by a Mack truck,” Sliwa, 71, told Bloomberg in an interview in July. “That’s not happening.” Sliwa does not view a potential Mamdani mayoralty as the “existential” threat that some people pressuring him to drop out of the race believe it would be, Smith said. “I think Curtis Sliwa can live with a New York City where he loses honourably and Zohran Mamdani is the mayor,” Smith said. Some political strategists suggested Adams dropping out could actually damage Cuomo. The New York Times reported the former governor spoke to Trump about getting involved in the race to stop Mamdani. “If I’m Mamdani, I think one of the narratives coming out of this campaign would be that Andrew Cuomo and Donald Trump got exactly what they wanted” when Adams dropped out, said Basil Smikle Jnr, former executive director of the New York State Democratic Party and a professor at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies. Cuomo should not assume Adams’ withdrawal means the path to victory has become easier, said Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf. “It’s a mistake for Cuomo to think Adams dropping out means this race is locked up,” said Sheinkopf, who runs a pro-Adams PAC. “Cuomo has very high negatives. It will be hard for him to make a comparative argument. And unless voters really understand who Mamdani is, why would they vote against him?” “Cuomo will argue he’s more qualified and has more experience to run the city,” Sheinkopf added. “But if that were truly believable, he wouldn’t have lost the primary so badly. The basic argument is still the same – you’ve got to define Mamdani.”

Trump threatens New York City funding if Mamdani wins mayor’s race after Adams bows out

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Trump said a Zohran Mamdani victory will mean the Democrat will have issues with Washington, adding: ‘Remember, he needs money from me’

Trump said a Zohran Mamdani victory will mean the Democrat will have issues with Washington, adding: ‘Remember, he needs money from me’