The newly-crowned Democratic candidate for the Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, started his tour of the city’s five boroughs on Monday, bringing forth a strong narrative of linking Donald Trump with Andrew Cuomo.
Mamdani accompanied U.S Rep Jerry Nadler and other city leaders to Manhattan, showcasing his support for the election in November despite the absence of prominent Democratic leaders. His allies highlighted the information published about President Trump and Cuomo’s recent phone conversation as a basis for his narrative.
“The fact is, both Cuomo and Trump are quite alike,” Nadler mentioned during the event on Monday. “They both wield their influence for the sake of themselves and their wealthy benefactors, as opposed to the general public.”
In the wake of the June primary election, Cuomo is running as an independent, and both he and Mamdani seem to be zeroing in on the same attack points as the campaign enters its final stretch before the election in early November.
Now, Cuomo is landing some jabs at Mamdani over her rent-stabilized apartment in an attempt to portray the democratic socialist as a hypocrite while the latter pushes for a rent freeze on those apartments as a part of her campaign promise to make the city affordable.
The city has more than one million units of rent-stabilized apartments, which New York’s landlords are permitted to lease out under strict controls.
Cuomo used to the latter to one of the former to justify his claims of Mamdani’s housing policies being hypocritical, due to his posh upbringing as the son of Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani and filmmaker Mira Nair.
Cuomo’s tweet purportedly stated, “Today, I am proud to announce that I will be proposing ‘Zohran’s law,’ a law that will keep the rich out of New York’s affordable housing. @ZohranKMamdani: You say freeze the rent. But for whom? Rich people like you? Working-class New Yorkers are being pushed from their neighborhoods.”
After the Twitter exchange, Brad Lander, who backed Mamdani and contested from his own failed primary bid, took to Twitter to support the Democratic Nominee for Hurting Housing New Yorkers. “Hey @andrewcuomo, are you aware that one-third of New Yorkers — about 1 million households — live in rent-stabilized units? (You could ask ChatGPT, which wrote your housing plan),” He said.
Cuomo’s suggestion was promptly responded to with Mamdani’s quip, claiming “I live rent-free” in the ex-governor’s head.
The pointed criticism illustrates the growing conflict around the mayoral election due to increasing frustration around Mamdani’s surprise win, which has now bothered moderates and conservatives eyeing the city’s future under progressives’ control. Moreover, it has also worried Democrats due to his open disdain for Israel.
Partly complicating the attempt to put together an anti-Mamdani coalition is the sitting Mayor Eric Adams, now self-pursuing an independent run after a public rift with the Democrats following Trump’s net positive shift towards him by dropping corruption charges.
Mamdani was quoted as saying, “It is Trump billionaires who have been opposing our campaign’s vision for a city that New Yorkers can afford. It is Donald Trump himself who has been directly conspiring with candidates.”
Moreover, Mamdani stated, “Whatever Donald Trump seeks to do to influence the outcome of this election, I have more faith in New Yorkers themselves.” These remarks came after he was informed about the New Times report from last week.
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Azzopardi’s statement in response to Mamdani’s outcry suggests a “desperate attack” to take the public’s eye off of him, living in a rent-stabilized apartment.”
“He’s a hypocrite, the mask was slipping, and his hardcore supporters don’t know how to respond,” Azzopardi added in the statement.
