Mamdani Pounces as Leaked Audio Shows Cuomo 'Expecting Trump's Help' to Win

Democratic New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday pounced on a report about top rival, disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, saying that he expects US President Donald Trump will help him win in the coming general election.

Politico obtained a leaked audio recording of Cuomo speaking at a fundraiser in the Hamptons over the weekend in which he expressed confidence that Trump and other Republicans would send signals to their voters that they should back him instead of Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.

"Trump himself, as well as top Republicans, will say the goal is to stop Mamdani... and you'll be wasting your vote on Sliwa," Cuomo said, according to Politico. "So I feel good about that."

During the fundraiser, Cuomo also suggested that he would have a better relationship with the president than Mamdani, and that there would be opportunities for the two of them to work together.

"Let's put it this way: I knew the president very well," Cuomo said. "I believe there's a big piece of him that actually wants redemption in New York. He feels that he was rejected by New York. We voted for Hillary Clinton. Bill de Blasio took his name off things. So 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."

Shortly after Politico's report was published, Mamdani fired off social media posts condemning his rival for welcoming the help of a president whose far-right, anti-immigrant, anti-free speech agenda has threatened the city he wants to lead.

"At (another) Hamptons fundraiser with Republican donors on Saturday, Andrew Cuomo said it plainly: He's expecting Trump's help to defeat us in November," wrote Mamdani. "'I feel good about that,' Cuomo said. New Yorkers won't."

Mamdani then pointed to an earlier report from The New York Times that detailed a call that Cuomo had with Trump about the mayoral race.

"Now we're seeing the results of that collaboration," Mamdani remarked. "But as we showed in the primary, our hustle can defeat their money. Let's get organized and win even bigger. Eleven more weeks."

A spokesman for Cuomo insisted that the former New York governor wasn't seeking Trump's assistance in the race despite openly discussing it at a private fundraiser.

"We're not asking for or expecting help from anyone," he told Politico. "Governor Cuomo is the only chance to beat Mamdani and ensure the greatest city in the world stays the greatest city in the world."

Mamdani is centering the city's affordability crisis in his campaign and has pledged to implement fare-free buses, universal free childcare, a network of city-run grocery stores, and a rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments. Cuomo and other centrist Democrats have sought to portray Mamdani as "unrealistic" and have attacked his support for Palestinian rights—but the attacks have been unsuccessful thus far, with the state assembly member winning the Democratic primary in June by a significant margin.

Polling from the general election has shown Mamdani with a hefty lead over his rivals in a four-way race that includes Cuomo, Sliwa, and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams. However, the same polling also shows that advantage narrows significantly should Sliwa and Adams exit the race.