Trump Weighs Getting Involved in New York City Mayor Race

New York Times

2 days ago

President Trump may have moved out of New York City, but he has privately discussed whether to intercede in its fractious race for mayor to try to stop Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, according to eight people briefed on the discussions.
In recent weeks, Mr. Trump has quizzed a Republican congressman and New York businessmen about who in the crowded field of candidates, which includes Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, has the best chance of beating Mr. Mamdani, the leftist front-runner.
The president has been briefed by Mark Penn, a pollster who has worked for Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Andrew Stein, a former New York City Council president and decades-long friend of Mr. Trump, on a range of polling that showed Mr. Cuomo could still be competitive as an independent candidate. Both men have pushed Mr. Cuomo as the best candidate despite his loss in the Democratic primary, including in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed. One of Mr. Penn's firms did extensive work for a pro-Cuomo super PAC in the primary.
And in a previously undisclosed call in recent weeks, Mr. Trump spoke about the race directly with Mr. Cuomo, an old associate and foil, according to three people briefed on the call, who were not authorized to discuss it.
The possibility that Mr. Trump would somehow involve himself in New York politics could inject a new element of unpredictability into an already fractious contest. It remains far from certain how or if Mr. Trump will ultimately make his presence felt. And in recent weeks, some Republicans close to the administration have indicated that the president might simply sit it out.
But donors and allies of Mr. Adams and Mr. Cuomo have pined for weeks for the president to intervene, arguing that Mr. Trump, a lifelong New Yorker with strong views about how the city should be run, could play a role in consolidating the fractured anti-Mamdani vote behind a single opponent. This group strongly opposes Mr. Mamdani, a democratic socialist who outflanked Mr. Cuomo in the primary with a message about freezing rents and raising taxes on the rich.
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