15-07-2025
Cuomo declares himself ‘anti-billionaire' as he re-enters New York mayoral race
Andrew Cuomo has seemingly declared himself an 'anti-billionaire' as he re-entered the New York mayoral race.
Mr Cuomo, the former New York governor, lost the Democratic primary to socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani last month but on Monday announced he would stand as a third-party candidate.
Mr Mamdani was propelled to victory by a campaign focused on the cost of living, with plans to raise the minimum wage to $30 an hour, freeze rent for stabilised tenants and build 200,000 affordable homes within a decade.
In an interview with New York Magazine on Tuesday, Mr Cuomo likened himself to his 33-year-old rival, claiming they were both 'anti-billionaire'.
'I believe he is authentic in his political ideology… social, anti-business becomes anti-establishment, anti-billionaire,' he said of Mr Mamdani.
'Which, yeah, I'm anti-billionaire. They have too much money. Make them give it back, especially when we're having an affordability crisis.'
Claims Cuomo adopted Mamdani's words
The comments have prompted a row between the media and the Cuomo camp, who have pushed back on reports of their candidate's apparent adoption of Mr Mamdani's talking points.
'That's a silly manipulation of the governor's words: he was clearly explaining and mimicking Mamdani's campaign messag e and how it resonated with his supporters,' said Rich Azzopardi, Mr Cuomo's spokesman.
'That's not his position at all and both the context of the conversation makes that clear.'
However, David Freedlander, the journalist who interviewed Mr Cuomo for New York Magazine, described the former governor's 'anti-billionaire' comments as his 'pitch for Mamdani voters'.
As governor, Mr Cuomo pushed back on attempts by fellow Democrats in the state Senate as they attempted to impose a tax on millionaires, claiming it would cause wealthy individuals to flee New York.
The state would be able to 'count on one hand the number of millionaires left' if they followed through with the plan, he said in 2019.
He has also noted that one per cent of its population pay 50 per cent of its tax revenues, and blocked former New York City mayor Bill de Blasio's attempts to raise income taxes on those earning more than $500,000 in 2014.
Elsewhere in the interview, Mr Cuomo said, like Mr Mamdani, he was in favour of freezing rent and introducing 'fast free buses'.
'I was not aggressive enough'
Looking back on his failed primary campaign, the former governor said he had failed to cross-examine Mr Mamdani's policies, which he said would mean 'death for New York City'.
'I never really debunked his proposals because I just didn't engage. That was a mistake,' said Mr Cuomo, whom commentators criticised for running a listless campaign.
'I made a mistake. I was not as aggressive as I should be, which is really ironic because my whole life people have been saying about me, 'Oh, he's too aggressive, too combative, pushed too hard'.'
He continued: 'It was just a mistake, and it's not a mistake I'm going to make again.'
So far, Mr Cuomo faces an uphill battle to win the mayoral election in November, with the anti-Mamdani vote split between Eric Adams, the current mayor, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, and Jim Walden, an independent.
'You run a multi-candidate field, Mamdani wins,' Mr Cuomo said.
'One-on-one is the best shot, and the goal is stopping Mamdani. Whoever has the best shot to do that should go forward.'
