Trump endorses Andrew Cuomo over Mamdani for New York Metropolis mayor

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Sakshi Venkatraman, New York

Watch: 'Onerous' to ship cash to New York Metropolis if Mamdani wins mayoral race, Trump says

US President Donald Trump has endorsed Andrew Cuomo within the New York Metropolis mayor's race, urging voters to not elect left-wing front-runner Zohran Mamdani.

"Whether or not you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you actually haven't any alternative. You need to vote for him, and hope he does a incredible job," Trump posted on Fact Social Monday night. "He's able to it, Mamdani is just not!"

The tepid endorsement of the previous New York governor comes on the eve of the highly-watched mayoral election.

On Sunday, the president mentioned he can be reluctant to ship federal funding to his hometown of New York if Mamdani is elected.

"It is gonna be arduous for me because the president to offer some huge cash to New York, as a result of when you've got a Communist working New York, all you are doing is losing the cash you are sending there," Trump mentioned in a tv interview.

Opinion polls point out Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, is forward of Cuomo, who's working as an Unbiased after Mamdani bested him within the Democratic main. The Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa, trails behind.

Trump, additionally a Republican, declined to endorse Sliwa in his publish, saying "A vote for Curtis Sliwa ... is a vote for Mamdani".

On federal funding, the president added "it's extremely unlikely that I will probably be contributing Federal Funds, apart from the very minimal as required" if Mamdani is elected.

The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to chop federal grants and funding for tasks primarily situated in Democratic-run areas. New York Metropolis obtained $7.4bn (£5.7bn) in federal funding this fiscal yr.

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In a wide-ranging interview with CBS programme 60 Minutes on Sunday, Trump mentioned {that a} Mayor Mamdani would make left-wing former New York Metropolis Mayor Invoice de Blasio "look nice".

"I obtained to see de Blasio, how dangerous a mayor he was, and this man will do a worse job than de Blasio by far," the president mentioned of Mamdani.

Trump grew up within the New York borough of Queens and nonetheless owns property within the metropolis.

"I am not a fan of Cuomo by hook or by crook, but when it is gonna be between a nasty Democrat and a Communist, I am gonna decide the dangerous Democrat on a regular basis, to be sincere with you," the Republican president instructed CBS.

Mamdani, who would run a world monetary hub, is a self-described democratic socialist, although he has rejected accusations he's a communist, joking in a single tv interview that he was "form of like a Scandinavian politician", solely browner.

Watch: Mamdani, Cuomo or Sliwa? New Yorkers on their alternative for mayor

Mamdani gained the Democratic main, whereas Cuomo got here second. The 34-year-old state assemblyman has referred to as the previous New York governor a puppet and parrot of Trump.

"The reply to a Donald Trump presidency is to not create its mirror picture right here in Metropolis Corridor," Mamdani mentioned on Monday.

"It's to create another that may communicate to what New Yorkers are so determined to see in their very own metropolis and what they discover in themselves and their neighbours every single day - a metropolis that believes within the dignity of everybody who calls this place house."

Cuomo has sought to parry that line of assault by presenting himself as the one candidate skilled sufficient to cope with the Trump administration.

He was governor of New York throughout the Covid-19 pandemic when many states clashed with the Trump administration, although Cuomo himself got here below scrutiny after state investigators discovered nursing house deaths have been considerably understated throughout the outbreak.

"I fought Donald Trump," Cuomo mentioned throughout a debate. "Once I'm combating for New York, I'm not going to cease."

Trump has deployed Nationwide Guard troops to Democratic-led cities as a part of against the law crackdown, whereas in search of to strip funding from jurisdictions that restrict their co-operation with federal immigration authorities.