New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Monday that fellow mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo urged Adams to drop his reelection bid, saying the former governor has a “real history” of taking similar action with other Black elected officials.
Adams claimed Cuomo played a role in the 2002 defeat of H. Carl McCall’s gubernatorial bid, and also “pushed out” Charlie King from the 2006 state attorney general election.
Cuomo lost the Democratic mayoral primary election to socialist Zohran Mamdani last month but is still keeping his name on the ballot. Adams, who is seeking reelection as an independent candidate, accused Cuomo of “setting us up” by staying in the race.
“I said, ‘Andrew, are you that level of arrogance? I’m the sitting mayor! I’m the sitting mayor of the city of New York, and you expect for me to step aside when you just lost to Zohran by 12 points!’” Adams said on CNBC’s SquawkBox.
“He was up 32 points, $30 million. You lost, it hurt your message, and you lost! Now let a fresh set of legs that has produced for this city. And that’s the highest level of arrogance,” Adams said.
Earlier in the interview, Adams said he knew Mamdani would win last month’s election and opted to “strategically” run as an independent to avoid the “crowded” primary. When asked if he needs Cuomo to drop out of the mayoral race to beat Mamdani, Adams said “he should” withdraw.
Ahead of the general election, Adams said Mamdani already had “an army” of voters who were angry about both the 2024 election results and the conflict in Gaza prior to the election. However, he pointed to just 9% of voters partaking in the primary election, and he intends to “mobilize a million new voters who woke up” after Mamdani’s victory.
SquawkBox co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin confirmed his show has invited both Cuomo and Mamdani to appear as guests.
WORKING-CLASS SUPPORT ELUDES MAMDANI AS TRUMP FINDS A BOGEYMAN
In the wake of Mamdani’s victory, several Democrats, including Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Ro Khanna (D-CA), and former New York Governor David Paterson have compared Mamdani’s messaging on affordability and the economy to President Donald Trump.
Paterson and several other politicians are planning a meeting to unify around defeating Mamdani’s bid for the mayor’s office.
On the Republican side, mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa is being urged to drop out to consolidate support around Adams. However, he has vocally opposed this option, saying he would only withdraw if “they figure out a way to put me in a pine box and bury me six feet under.”