Andrew Cuomo claims ‘Trump will take over NYC’ if Zohran Mamdani wins mayoral race

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is now running for New York City mayor, made some eyebrow-raising remarks on PBS’s 'Firing Line' with Margaret Hoover.

Cuomo warned that if Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani wins the mayoral election, it won’t just be bad news for Democrats. According to him, it will mark the beginning of a full-blown “national security crisis” that President Donald Trump will gleefully use to take over the city.

Cuomo, who is fighting his way back after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani, framed his campaign as the last firewall between New York and chaos.

Asked by Hoover why he’s still in the race, Cuomo said, “The fire in the belly is probably stronger, because the stakes are higher.” He added, “If Zohran Mamdani wins the election, Donald Trump will take over New York City, he will be President Trump and Mayor Trump.” 

Andrew Cuomo claims Trump may ‘seize power’ in New York

When Hoover pressed him on what exactly he meant, Cuomo painted a rather dystopian scenario. According to him, Mamdani’s “anti-police, anti-business, anti-Semitic” agenda would hand Trump the excuse he’s been waiting for to roll into town.

“He will say... Because it’ll be the perfect excuse for the president to do what he wants to do, which is seize power and control over New York City, the greatest city in the country, if not the globe. And he will say, ‘This person is a threat to public safety. He’s 33 years old. He’s never had a job. He’s anti-police, anti-business, anti-Semitic. I have to come in to protect New Yorkers,’” the former governor claimed.

“And on what would be Mayor Mamdani’s election inaugural day, you will see tanks coming down Fifth Avenue with Donald Trump taking a selfie in front of Trump Tower. And it will be mayhem,” he warned.

When asked if his comments were fear-mongering, Cuomo said his vision wasn’t fantasy but a logical next step from Trump’s playbook.

“It is what President Trump said he will do, and it is what makes total sense for him to do,” he said. “He sends National Guard into cities. Why? Because he’s making a political point. ‘These Democrats don’t know how to run these cities. And they endanger people. And it takes me, Donald Trump, to send in the federal troops to clean up the mess these Democratic lunatics are creating.’ That’s what the National Guard is about. They’re not really there for any other purpose. It’s a political power play.”

Andrew Cuomo warns socialist Democrats are dividing the party

Cuomo insisted that the New York City mayoral race is an ideological battle for the soul of the Democratic Party.

“You have the Democratic Socialists of America, DSA. This is the extreme far left of the Democratic Party that has been growing in support over the years. This is Bernie Sanders, AOC, the socialist wing. Zorhan Mamdani is part of that,” he said, adding that on the other side are “mainstream Democrats, which I represent, my father represented, Bill Clinton represented, Barack Obama represented.”

To Cuomo, the DSA crowd may use the word “Democrat,” but that’s where the similarities end. “They have different views and a different philosophy. Yes, they have the word Democrat in front of their name. But they have nothing to do with the Democratic Party as far as I’m concerned," he declared.  

Andrew Cuomo vows safer streets, more housing, rejects socialist ‘gimmicks’

Leaning on his four decades in public life, Cuomo contrasted his credentials with what he calls Mamdani’s “gimmicks.”

“Everything starts with public safety,” he said. “We went through a period in this city where the geniuses defunded the police. Literally took a billion dollars out of the police, driven by the socialists. We now have the lowest number of police officers in New York City in modern political history. You have to increase the police department. I want to add 5,000 cops, 1,500 in the subways," he proposed.

His other big focus is affordability. “Affordability; the only way to bring rents down is to increase supply. You have a one percent vacancy rate in housing. Forget the gimmicks. Build more affordable housing. Get it done," he continued.

Cuomo said the city needs to “really increase the supply where you’re going to see rents drop." He explained, “You need 500,000 units to really increase the supply where you’re going to see rents drop, which means we have to have hundreds of projects ongoing and efficiency in government we haven’t seen in a long, long time.”

Cuomo also mocked Mamdani's rent freeze plan and a “government-run grocery store in every borough." According to him, the idea that the city could out-manage private business was “laughable.” The same goes for free buses. “It’s been tried, it’s been done. They turned into mobile homeless shelters. But it sounds great," he argued.

Cuomo insisted his run wasn’t about ego or revenge, but about a sense of urgency. “It’s about the consequences and how I think I can make a difference,” he said. “I think I can make a dramatic difference in the trajectory of New York City.” 

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