Final NYC mayoral debate has Mamdani, Cuomo and Sliwa all on the attack

The moderators asked the candidates to describe how, if elected mayor, they would respond to the Trump administration if President Trump continues to increase the federal government’s role in the affairs of New York City while also threatening to decrease funding.

Sliwa accused Cuomo and Mamdani of “bumping chests” with the president to “prove who’s more macho.”

“You can’t beat Trump. He holds most of the cards,” Sliwa said.

He said if you try to fight the president, the people of New York City will lose. He said he would instead try to negotiate with President Trump.

“You have to be able to show respect, and I think if you show respect, you’ll get respect and you’ll protect the New Yorkers who are so desperately in need of federal funds,” Sliwa said.

Cuomo cited his experience working with Mr. Trump during the COVID pandemic as governor of New York during the first Trump administration.

“You’re going to have to confront President Trump. He is hyper aggressive and he is gonna overstep his bounds, and you are going to have to confront him and you can beat him,” he said.

He said you will also, however, want to be in a place where you can cooperate with him to get federal help.

“President Trump has to respect you,” Cuomo said. “He has said he’ll take over New York if Mamdani wins, and he will because he has no respect for him. He thinks he’s a kid and he’s gonna knock him on his tuchus.”

Mamdani called Cuomo “Donald Trump’s puppet,” saying Mr. Trump wants Cuomo to be the mayor.

“Donald Trump ran on three promises. He ran on creating the single largest deportation force in American history, he ran on going after his political enemies, and he ran on lowering the cost of living,” Mamdani said. “If he wants to talk to me about the third piece of that agenda, I will always be ready and willing, but if he wants to talk about how to pursue the first and second piece of that agenda at the expense of New Yorkers, I will fight him every single step of the way.”

In a rebuttal, Cuomo said he believes Trump wants Mamdani to win the election “because he would use him politically all across the country and he would take over New York City.”

“It will be President Trump and Mayor Trump, and he will come in and take over the city. I have no doubt,” Cuomo said.