New York City GOP mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa is asking President Donald Trump not to intervene in the race, advising him to instead focus on national matters and arguing that his involvement will benefit the Democratic nominee, Zohran Mamdani.
“I would just say to the president, spend your time where it’s needed more, on geopolitical interests that affect all Americans,” Sliwa said in an interview on Fox 5, reports The Washington Examiner on Saturday. “This election in New York City does not affect all Americans.”
Sliwa, who is nationally known as the founder of the city’s Guardian Angels organization, acknowledged that he has a “love-hate relationship with the president.
The race at this time is split between Sliwa, Mamdani, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist, has come under fire from Trump and Republicans who have accused him of being a communist.
“In this situation, it doesn’t help if he intervenes in New York City,” said Sliwa. “Every day [that] it’s Trump versus Zohran Mamdani, it’s a good day for Zohran Mamdani. Every day that Cuomo and Adams talk about ‘You drop out, you drop out,’ it’s a good day for Zohran Mamdani. I talk [about] the issues.”
Further, a recent New York Times article reported that Trump had spoken with Cuomo in recent weeks, and Sliwa said that he was not surprised about their conversation.
“No, come on, let’s face it. Cuomo’s been talking to Trump for years,” he said. “They grew up together, side by side. Fred, the patriarch of the Trump family, supported Mario Cuomo. I get that.”
Mamdani, meanwhile, has positioned himself as a resistance candidate against Trump and slammed Cuomo this week after the former governor’s reported call with the president.
“The job of mayor is not to audition to be the jester for a want-to-be king,” Mamdani said. “It is to be the person who stands up for the values of this city, the fabric of this city, and the people of this city.”
Adams, a Democrat, opted to run as an independent in the November race, while Cuomo, who lost the primary to Mamdani, later entered the general election as an independent.
Mamdani’s opponents have called on Adams and Cuomo to choose one person to run to prevent the vote from being split and giving Mamdani the win, but they have refused.
Trump’s administration had been friendly with Adams in recent weeks, but is now keeping its distance after the mayor’s poll numbers dipped.
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