Ex-President Bill Clinton on Sunday endorsed his former Housing secretary Andrew Cuomo in the Big Apple\u2019s mayoral primary, describing the city as in \u201ccrisis\u2019\u2019 and his pal as a \u201ccompetent leader.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a robocall released by Cuomo\u2019s campaign, the Democratic former commander in chief urged New Yorkers to back the ex-governor in the Tuesday\u2019s Dem showdown.<\/p>\n
Former President Bill Clinton formally endorsed his previous HUD secretary, Andrew Cuomo, for New York City mayor in a robocall to voters. Paul Martinka<\/p>\n
\u201c<\/strong>The election will decide the next mayor of New York, and I urge you to vote for Andrew Cuomo,\u201d Clinton said in the recorded message. \u201cAs president, I chose Andrew to be my secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and he never let me down.\u201d<\/p>\n Clinton, 78, lives in tony Chappaqua in Westchester County with his wife Hillary, New York\u2019s former senator who spectacularly lost to Trump in the 2016 presidential election.<\/p>\n The ex-prez is currently at the top of Cuomo\u2019s online list of endorsements \u2014 while Hillary is nowhere to be seen.<\/p>\n Bill Clinton noted in his call that Cuomo worked in his presidential administration on such issues as affordable housing and helping to stave off hate, including \u201cdiscrimination, including against the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n The ex-president said Cuomo can fix what he called a city in \u201ccrisis.<\/p>\n \u201cNew York City is facing major challenges. There is a desperate need for affordable housing, homelessness is at a crisis level, and public safety must be restored,\u201d Clinton said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is imperative that New York chooses a mayor who has the ability, talent, and experience to do the job.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a fighter who knows how to make government work, and at a time when our basic rights are under assault, I know he\u2019ll stand up and protect the people of this city,\u201d he said of Cuomo, adding his Dem buddy has the ability to raise the \u201cprogressive standard.\u201d<\/p>\n Clinton expressed his confidence that Cuomo could lead a city in \u201ccrisis.\u201d Matthew McDermott<\/p>\n Cuomo, 67, responded to the endorsement with gratitude.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>I am honored to have the support of President Bill Clinton \u2014 a personal mentor, friend, and hero.\u00a0 His administration was one of the most accomplished in modern political history,\u201d Cuomo said in the message.<\/p>\n Cuomo, who resigned<\/a> in disgrace as governor in 2021 amid a slew of sexual-harassment allegations<\/a>, is aiming for a political resurrection in his mayoral comeback bid. Cuomo has vehemently any accusation of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n Clinton similarly had a presidency rocked by scandal.<\/p>\n His Oval Office affair with then-22-year-old intern Monica Lewinsky <\/a>led him to be impeached by the House for perjury and obstruction of justice \u2014 though he was acquitted by the Senate and never resigned.<\/p>\n The two Democrats have had political careers rocked by scandal. Richard Harbus<\/p>\n Clinton\u2019s endorsement of Cuomo comes just two days before the city\u2019s Tuesday primary.<\/p>\n Democratic kingmaker and 84-year-old South Carolina Congressman<\/a> Jim Clyburn endorsed Cuomo on Friday \u2014 as surging socialist contender Zohran Mamdani\u2019s campaign garnered a mix of fresh condemnation and support.<\/p>\n In the city\u2019s ranked-choice voting contest, Cuomo currently prevails 55% to 45% against Mamdani in a potential seventh round, according to a recent Marist College Institute for Public Opinion\u00a0survey.<\/a><\/p>\n