Rev. Al Sharpton urges Andrew Cuomo to abandon run for New York City mayor. Here's why.
The Rev. Al Sharpton says Andrew Cuomo should drop out of the race for New York City mayor.
During an interview on MSNBC on Wednesday morning, Sharpton said Cuomo "should look at what is best for the city" and step aside so that Queens Assemblyman and Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani can take on incumbent Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, as well Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
"I think, in the best interest of the legacy of Andrew Cuomo, that he ought to let them have the one-on-one race," Sharpton said, referring to Mamdani and Adams. "He can endorse one or the other, and let them have a battle over what is best for New York."
Independents Jim Walden and Joseph Hernandez are also running in the race, though Sharpton did not address their candidacies.
Asked about Sharpton's remarks, the Cuomo campaign issued the following statement:
"Everyone is entitled to their own political opinion -- we understand President Trump supports Eric Adams, and do not believe socialism is the answer. Most New Yorkers are not Trumpers, and most New Yorkers are not socialists. The majority lies in the middle. We will continue to assess the current situation in the best interest of the people of the City of New York," spokesman Rich Azzopardi said.
Adams and Mamdani were also asked about Sharpton's comments, but didn't appear to want to fan the flames.
"I don't have a response. I'm going to do what I do best, which is campaigning with people, people who know me," Adams said.
"I leave decisions of who will or will not run up to them," Mamdani said.
Cuomo on the ballot but determining next steps
A few days after being stunned at the polls by Mamdani in the Democratic mayoral primary, Cuomo said he would remain on the ballot. He cited the primary's relatively small turnout numbers compared to a general election as the compelling reason to continue his campaign.
"The Democratic primary is always an interesting situation, right?" Cuomo said in an exclusive interview with CBS News New York. "There are about 5 million voters in New York City. There are about 8 million people in New York City, and about 1 million people vote in the Democratic primary. So it's not necessarily representative of the city at large."
Cuomo ended up finishing 12 points behind Mamdani after ranked choice voting, a factor that has him considering whether he will actively campaign going forward.
"From the bottom of our hearts, we thank the 428,530 New Yorkers who chose to rank Governor Cuomo as their choice for mayor and who believed in his vision to get the city back on track. While it's 24,017 more votes than Eric Adams received four years ago, this primary saw a massive spike in voters under 30, and those who had never voted before -- completely changing the overall electorate, which is why no poll or model predicted the outcome, an outcome which was also felt in council races citywide," Azzopardi said in a statement on Tuesday.
He went on to say, "Extremism, division and empty promises are not the answer to this city's problems, and while this was a look at what motivates a slice of our primary electorate, it does not represent the majority. The financial instability of our families is the priority here, which is why actionable solutions, results and outcomes matter so much."
Trump looming over NYC mayoral election
During the same interview on MSNBC, Sharpton also slammed Adams for cozying up to President Trump to get his corruption case dismissed.
"I think that if Mamdani wanted anybody to help his campaign he should want Donald Trump to talk every day in the terms that he talked to for Eric Adams because that is absolutely something that the voters will shun up on, a political favor, a political interference with due process," Sharpton said.
Mr. Trump continued his attacks on Mamdani, posting on social media, "As president of the United States, I'm not going to let this communist lunatic destroy New York. Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards. I'll save New York and make it 'Hot' and 'Great' again, just like I did with Good Ol' USA!"
Mamdani, a Democratic socialist who held a victory rally with unions members, insisted the president is only trying to distract voters.
"It is easier for him to fan the flames of division than to acknowledge the ways in which he has betrayed those working class Americans, not just in this city, but across this country, and the ways in which he continues to betray them. Because we know that he would rather speak about me than speak about the legislation that he is shepherding through Washington D.C., legislation that will quite literally take health care away from Americans, legislation that will steal food from the hungry," Mamdani said.
