NEW YORK\u00a0\u2014\u00a0President Trump on Friday dismissed Curtis Sliwa \u2014 his own party\u2019s New York City mayoral candidate \u2014 as \u201cnot exactly prime time\u201d and even disparaged his affinity for cats, as pressure mounts for Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani \u2018s rivals to drop out of the race.<\/p>\n
Trump has warned that Mamdani, a 33-year-old state lawmaker and democratic socialist, will likely cruise to victory over Sliwa, Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Nov. 4 unless two of those candidates dropped out. The New York-born Republican thinks Cuomo could have a chance in a one-on-one race. <\/p>\n
On a Friday appearance on \u201cFox & Friends\u201d<\/a>, he threw cold water on Sliwa\u2019s mayoral hopes, even taking a shot at the red beret-wearing candidate\u2019s vow to fill the official residence of the New York City mayor with rescue cats if he does win. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a Republican, but Curtis is not exactly prime time,\u201d Trump said bluntly.<\/p>\n \u201cHe wants cats to be in Gracie Mansion,\u201d the president added. \u201cWe don\u2019t need thousands of cats.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani became the presumed favorite in the race after winning the Democratic primary over Cuomo, who is now running as an independent in the general election. Adams, a Democrat, skipped the primary due to his campaign being sidelined by a now-dismissed federal bribery case.<\/p>\n Two polls conducted in early September, one by the New York Times and Siena University, the other by Quinnipiac University<\/a>, each showed likely voters favoring Mamdani over Cuomo, with Adams and Sliwa behind Cuomo. <\/p>\n The Quinnipiac poll suggested the gap between Mamdani and Cuomo could narrow if Adams dropped out. The Times\/Siena poll suggested that if both Adams and Sliwa withdrew, Mamdani\u2019s advantage over Cuomo could shrink even further.<\/p>\n A campaign spokesperson on Friday stressed that Adams has no intention of stepping down from office or abandoning his reelection bid \u2014 though confirmed he is commissioning a poll to gauge his support. <\/p>\n \u201cHe just wants to look at all factors,\u201d said Todd Shapiro said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing on the table right now. He\u2019s looking at polls just like he\u2019s doing everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n The mayor, he added, would have more to say on the polling itself next week.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s still very popular,\u201d Shapiro said. \u201cHe\u2019s running on a record of success.\u201d<\/p>\n Adams in recent weeks has sought to rebuff questions of whether he might accept an alternate job offer amid reports that he had been approached about potentially taking a role with the federal government.<\/p>\n In a radio interview Friday, Sliwa \u2014 the founder of New York\u2019s Guardian Angels anti-crime patrol group \u2014 said Trump seems to be responding \u201cto what people are telling him about me without really knowing much about me of late.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would hope the president would revisit my history, not only with him but in this city,\u201d Sliwa said on 710 WOR. <\/p>\n The outspoken New Yorkers both rose to prominence in the late 1970s, but Sliwa has said they haven\u2019t spoken in years<\/a>, possibly because he\u2019d been critical of Trump at times, both on his long-running radio show and as a candidate.<\/p>\n In a follow up email, Sliwa also defended his love of cats, adding that \u201canimal welfare\u201d is among the issues \u201cNew Yorkers care about\u201d that he hopes to focus on, if elected.<\/p>\n \u201cNew Yorkers care for people and for animals, and so do I,\u201d he said. \u201cI am proud of my wife, Nancy, who has devoted her life to fostering, caring for, and saving animals, and fighting for them when no one else would.\u201d<\/p>\n Sliwa has sheltered a large collection of rescue cats in his Manhattan apartment and has noted that Gracie Mansion is far more spacious.<\/p>\n