President reportedly seeking advice on candidates who can defeat Democrat Zohran Mamdani and may have held private call with independent candidate Andrew Cuomo
US President Donald Trump is reportedly playing a behind-the-scenes role in the high-profile 2025 New York City mayoral race, even holding a private phone call with former Governor Andrew Cuomo, US media reported on Wednesday.
According to The New York Times, Trump has been asking Republican lawmakers and business leaders for advice on which candidate stands the best chance of defeating Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.
Among the contenders are Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, independent incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, and Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani.
Sources told the Times that Trump was recently briefed by pollster Mark Penn and former City Council president Andrew Stein, both of whom are backing Cuomo, who resigned as New York governor in 2021 over sexual harassment allegations. Cuomo denies the claims.
The report also cites three unnamed sources claiming Trump and Cuomo held a previously undisclosed phone conversation in recent weeks.
Cuomo's spokesperson Rich Azzopardi denied any such call, saying they hadn't spoken "in a while," and insisted: "As far as I know, they have not discussed the race."
If the report is true, the call would mark a surprising twist in the tense political history between the two men.
As Trump is unpopular among Democrats, any confirmation that he is cooperating with Cuomo, a longtime Democrat now running as an independent, could hurt his chances at the polls.
In May, the Times reported that the Trump-era Justice Department had launched an investigation into Cuomo’s handling of COVID-era nursing home deaths, a move Azzopardi labeled "and election interference plain and simple."
Cuomo, in a June interview with Politico, vowed to take a national stance on Medicaid policy if elected mayor, saying of Trump: "He’s cutting Medicaid. Medicaid is not a blue (Democratic)-city, blue-state situation. That is in every state … And he could lose the House on cutting Medicaid if you organized it and got it moving."
While Cuomo has denied any ambitions beyond New York City Hall, his rhetoric and strategy have fueled speculation about a 2028 presidential bid.
But he acknowledged the political stakes in the current mayoral race, warning: "Assume any person who becomes mayor will be investigated. Just assume that. If they oppose Trump, he will investigate them for leverage."
After Mamdani won the Democratic primary this June, Trump suggested that if he won the New York mayoral race in November, the federal government could take over the city.
