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HARLEM, N.Y. ― Both Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo argued that they’d defend New York City from President Donald Trump’s threats while speaking at a mayoral forum focused on issues affecting Black women on Monday.
“If the White House was to come in the manner that they are now, trying to withhold more than $50 million…I would fight them,” Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral nominee, said during the event at The Apollo, which was organized by The Links, Incorporated. “What we have seen is the most effective response to Donald Trump is an exhibition of strength, not an exhibition of surrender.”
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Zohran, a state assembly member, added, “It’s employing every tool of the law,” and then cited the lawsuit California leaders filed disputing the White House’s deployment of the National Guard in the state.
Cuomo similarly said he’d stand up to Trump, despite reports suggesting a cozier relationship between the two. (The New York Times has reported that the two have had a call about the mayoral election, though both have denied this. Cuomo has also openly said that Trump could help sway Republican voters in his favor.)
“I dealt with President Trump many times. I was governor, he was president, we went all through COVID. Everything came from the White House with a threat, everything,” Cuomo, the former New York, said. “He is a bully, President Trump. And he tries to bully you. There’s only one way to deal with a bully, which is when the bully pushes you, you have to push back.”
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Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa added that he wouldn’t be leaving the race and alluded to the media reports regarding Cuomo and Trump.
“Guess what, I ain’t dropping out,” Sliwa said. “No billionaires, no politicians are going to choose the Mayor.”
The candidates’ remarks follow Trump’s threat to withhold federal funds from New York City if Mamdani becomes mayor, as well as his urging of candidates to drop out so that the contest could become a two-person race. They also followed incumbent Mayor Eric Adams’ abrupt decision to exit the race after The New York Times reported that Trump advisers were weighing a possible job for him in the administration.
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The mayoral candidates fielded questions about the disproportionately high maternal mortality rates that Black women face and their upcoming staffing plans as well.
Mamdani stated that he would push for parents to receive a baby basket as part of his policy response to maternal mortality, while Cuomo pointed to a past task force he’d established, which studied the causes of maternal deaths. Both said they’d seek to have Black women in prominent roles in their administrations.
Additionally, Mamdani elaborated on his housing policies, which have drawn scrutiny from some Black leaders due to concerns that his efforts to freeze the rent in rent-stabilized apartments could harm small landlords.
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“Affordability isn’t just about tenants, it’s also about homeowners, it’s also about landlords,” Mamdani said, noting that he’d support efforts to address insurance costs for property owners.
Multiple attendees stated that they felt the candidates’ responses could have employed more nuance and demonstrated a better understanding of the unique experiences that Black women face.
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“It seems like all of the candidates could use some education on what it means to be a Black African American woman in Harlem and in New York City,” Latisa, a Harlem resident who declined to share her last name for privacy reasons, told HuffPost.
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Mondell Sealy, 68, a Links member based in Queens, said she remained undecided, feeling that both Cuomo and Mamdani had their own respective strengths.