Democrat Zohran Mamdani challenged President Trump to a debate in New York City after Andrew Cuomo called for a series of debates in the mayor’s race.
It comes amid reports that Mr. Trump and others in the White House want to entice incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa to drop out, setting up a two-man race between Cuomo and Mamdani.
Cuomo challenges Mamdani, Mamdani challenges President Trump
Cuomo, an independent candidate, on Thursday tried to up the ante in the mayor’s race by challenging only Mamdani to several debates and pushing for their opponents to end their campaigns.
“I challenge him to five debates, one in every borough, where we speak about the issues in that borough,” Cuomo said. “Show up. Tell New Yorkers who you are and what you really believe once and for all.”
Mamdani went a step further in response.
“Let’s cut out the middle man. Why should I debate Donald Trump’s puppet when I can debate Donald Trump, himself,” the Queens assemblyman said. “If Donald Trump is serious about this, he should come to New York City and we can have as many debates as you want about why he is cutting SNAP benefits for hungry New Yorkers just to fund tax cuts for his billionaire donors.”
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani challenged President Trump to a debate after rival candidate Andrew Cuomo challenged Mamdani.
CBS News New York
“Mr. Mamdani’s fear is a one-on-one race with me. Why? Because the majority of New Yorkers oppose him and the only way he wins is by splitting that vote,” Cuomo said. “And I’m telling you, the more New Yorkers find out who he is, the less support he’s going to have.”
CBS News New York previously reported that Mr. Trump and the White House were exploring possible job offers for Adams and Sliwa to drop out, leaving just Cuomo and Mamdani in the race for Gracie Mansion.
Cuomo calls for Adams, Sliwa to drop out
Cuomo endorsed the idea of Adams and Sliwa abandoning their campaigns, but insisted he has not been in contact with Mr. Trump or the administration.
“If you’re not the strongest candidate, step aside,” Cuomo said. “It makes sense that when you get to a point when you can determine who is the strongest candidate, the other candidates defer to the stronger candidate.”
He believes he has the best chance to win head-to-head against Mamdani in the general election, despite losing the Democratic primary by 13 points.
“Mr. Mamdani is not supported by the majority of New Yorkers,” Cuomo continued. “There have been 4,782 polls taken in this race, metaphorically. Every poll shows he’s at about 40%.”
Cuomo said he would never accept an endorsement from Mr. Trump and that he had nothing to do with the administration’s reported interest in the mayor’s race.
Adams and Sliwa campaigns say they won’t drop out
It seems unlikely that Adams and Sliwa are even ready to call it quits.
“If you want to allow Andrew Cuomo to determine the rules of how our electoral process is, then where is our democracy?” Adams said. “The voters decide who [is] the next mayor of the city of New York.”
Adams campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro said in a statement, “Andrew Cuomo already spent $25 million in the primary and still lost by double digits. If polls told the true story, he would be on the Democratic ballot today. It’s time for him to step aside. Mayor Adams is focused on delivering for New Yorkers and remains the strongest candidate to defeat Zohran Mamdani in November.”
The mayor picked up reelection endorsements from Muslim community leaders on Thursday as he called for the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad to become a city holiday.
Sliwa has said he is not dropping out under any circumstance.
“You can’t bribe me. You can’t lease me. You can’t rent me. You can’t motivate me to leave this race,” the Guardian Angels founder said. “I am running as the Republican candidate, a major party candidate, with down-ballot candidates running for other offices. I have a responsibility to them, to my supporters who have now given me $4 million to invest in the rest of the campaign.”
Sliwa said he wants to have “the battle continue on the issues.”
However, some expect the race will change before Election Day.
Businessman John Catsimatidis predicted “something” will happen before the end of September after speaking with Mr. Trump a few days ago.
The mayor said weeks ago the race will have more twists and turns than a Coney Island roller coaster.
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