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Donald Trump has been accused of secretly hoping Zohran Mamdani wins the New York City mayoral election, despite supporting his rival Andrew Cuomo instead. The president gave a last-minute endorsement to Cuomo via Truth Social on Monday - something which could push liberal anti-Trump New Yorkers even further toward Mamdani. Cuomo seemed reluctant to accept the endorsement, signaling that his team is wary the president's support could be a poisoned chalice for the mayoral hopeful, who is currently polling second in the race. The former New York Governor appeared to hang up a call when a radio host first asked him about the endorsement, and he later chose to focus on how Trump had called him a 'bad Democrat' rather than leaning into the support. Meanwhile, Mamdani's team celebrated the president's move. 'Congratulations, @AndrewCuomo,' Mamdani wrote on X, beside a bright red graphic showing Trump giving Cuomo a thumbs-up. 'I know how hard you worked for this.' A fierce debate about the real intentions behind Trump's endorsement unfurled on social media, with many voters claiming that the president wants to help Mamdani clinch the keys to City Hall in order to further his own interests. 'Trump wants Mamdani to win. Hence the Cuomo endorsement,' one New Yorker wrote, while another agreed that Trump wants to present Mamdani as 'the vanguard of the Democratic Party,' in order to radicalize the party's image and push voters away. 'Smart move in my opinion,' the commenter wrote. 'They (the Republicans) will win for at least a decade if it translates.' 'If Trump wanted Cuomo to win, he would have gotten Curtis Sliwa to drop out,' a third person observed, referring to the Republican candidate currently polling third in the New York City mayor election. 'Instead, he endorsed Cuomo before the election, knowing it would hurt him among the predominantly Dem NYC base. Trump wants Mamdani to win for the benefit of the Republican Party.' However, many people disagreed, pointing out that Trump would not want to hurt business in the city where he operates several hotels and commercial buildings, and where he was born in 1946. 'He (Trump) has assets here and a lot of personal reasons to not want this place to get destroyed. He has zero want to see Zohran the moron become mayor,' one person wrote on X. Another person said that a disingenuous endorsement as part of a grand plan would be out of character for Trump, who typically explodes his opinions across Truth Social in a haphazard way. 'Trump has never endorsed against a candidate he wanted to win in his entire life, he literally just says whatever he's thinking at that minute, not a guy who plays 3d chess,' the X user wrote. Even Cuomo seemed hesitant to embrace Trump's endorsement for him, which came with a threat from the president to cut funding to the Big Apple if residents elected Mamdani. The former Governor appeared to hang up the call when asked about the endorsement on Ebro in the Morning, a New York-based radio show. Speaking with reporters later on Monday, Cuomo also highlighted that Trump previously called him a 'bad Democrat.' 'Trump called me a bad Democrat? No I'm a good Democrat. A proud Democrat,' Cuomo said during a press conference in the aftermath of the endorsement. 'He (Trump) said I'd rather have a bad Democrat than a communist, that's what he said,' Cuomo said. 'He called me a bad Democrat. First of all, I happen to be a good Democrat and a proud Democrat, and I'm going to stay a proud Democrat. 'Mamdani is not a communist, he's a socialist, and we don't need a socialist mayor either. 'What you heard President Trump say is that he would cut off federal funding to New York if Mamdani was elected. 'That would be devastating to New York, and we can't let that happen. 'Mamdani cannot handle Trump, that's clear, and the next mayor has to be able to handle Donald Trump.' Cuomo added that Trump wouldn't be sending ICE or the National Guard into New York City under his watch, and painted himself as someone who could stand up to the Republican president. The president has previously hinted that he would rather a 'bad Democrat' like Cuomo beat Mamdani, who Trump calls a 'communist', but his Truth Social post Monday night was his most explicit endorsement for the ex-governor. 'If Communist Candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the Election for Mayor of New York City, it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required, to my beloved first home, because of the fact that, as a Communist, this once great City has ZERO chance of success, or even survival!' he wrote. Trump said a New York under Mamdani would be a 'complete and total economic and social disaster,' claiming that the socialist's principles 'have been tested for over a thousand years and they have never once been successful.' The president is instead choosing to back Cuomo, whom he said 'had a record of success' despite the pair's long-running feud during Trump's first term. Trump also dismissed voting for Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa as 'a vote for Mamdani' and cracked that the Guardian Angels' founder 'looks much better without the beret.' 'Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!' Mamdani, 34, holds a significant 25 point lead over Cuomo, 67, at 50 percent to 25 percent, with Republican Curtis Sliwa registering 21 percent support, according to a poll conducted five days before the election. The results came in the final Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey, and showed that Mamdani has increased his overall support by seven percent - from 43 percent to 50 percent - since the same poll was conducted a month ago. Tuesday’s general election is being conducted as a traditional one, meaning the candidate who gets the most votes wins. The city’s party primaries were determined using ranked choice voting, which allowed voters to rank candidates in order of preference.
