Trump and Musk tell New York to ‘vote’ Cuomo over Mamdani on eve of mayoral election

President Donald Trump on Monday night explicitly called on New York City residents to vote for Andrew Cuomo over Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani in the mayoral election.

Trump’s endorsement of Cuomo’s independent candidacy came on the eve of the election, and hours after Tesla CEO Elon Musk similarly endorsed the former New York governor.

Both Trump and Musk said that voting for the Republican nominee, Curtis Sliwa, was effectively a vote for the state Assembly member Mamdani, who has consistently held a solid lead in polls for the general election.

“A vote for Curtis Sliwa (who looks much better without the beret!) is a vote for Mamdani,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

“Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice,” Trump wrote.

“You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!”

Cuomo is a Democrat. He is running as an independent because he was defeated by Mamdani in the party’s primary in June.

“Donald Trump is threatened by our campaign,” Mamdani said in an interview on CNN .

“What a pair!” he said when Musk’s name was mentioned.

“They’ve picked Andrew Cuomo because they know he will be the puppet they want, right there in New York City,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani’s spokesman told The New York Times that Trump’s endorsement of Cuomo was “absolutely the nail in the coffin for Andrew Cuomo.”

In the same post on Monday night, Trump threatened to withhold federal funds from New York if Mamdani, who is a self-identified democratic socialist, wins on Tuesday.

“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!” Trump wrote.

Mamdani is not a communist.

Musk, in a post on his social media site X, wrote, “Remember to vote tomorrow in New York! Bear in mind that a vote for Curtis is really a vote for Mumdumi or whatever his name is.

The Times reported on Monday that Mamdani, during a campaign event in Queens, said that he had known “for months” that Trump would back Mr. Cuomo.

“In these final days, what was rumored, what was feared, has become naked and unabashed,” Mamdani reportedly said.

“The MAGA movement’s embrace of Andrew Cuomo is reflective of Donald Trump’s understanding that this would be the best mayor for him — not the best mayor for New York City, not the best mayor for New Yorkers, but the best mayor for Donald Trump and his administration.”