Donald Trump urges New Yorkers to vote for Andrew Cuomo

US President Donald Trump urged New Yorkers in his strongest terms yet to vote for former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the city's mayoral race on the eve of the election, reports CNN.

"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," the president wrote on Truth Social on Monday,  adding that Cuomo "is capable of it" and that Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani "is not!" His backing of Cuomo, whom he described as having a "Record of Success," could hurt the former governor with Democrats as much as it helps him with Republicans in deep-blue New York City. 

Mamdani, who shocked Cuomo in June's Democratic primary, has repeatedly tied the former governor to Trump and argued that he would stand up to powerful interests in both New York and Washington.  

Cuomo on Monday dismissed Trump's endorsement, insisting that the president was simply opposing Mamdani. "He's not endorsing me. He's opposing Mamdani," Cuomo said.

Trump, a Queens native, has long complained about Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, and falsely labeled him a communist.  He again vowed to pull federal funds from the city if Mamdani wins Tuesday "other than the very minimum as required."

In response, Mamdani told CNN's Erin Burnett on Monday night that the president is threatened by his campaign.

"Like his (campaign), we've diagnosed the crisis in working class New Yorkers' lives, the cost of living. But unlike him, we're actually going to deliver on that. And that is a contrast that he can't bear to see," Mamdani said on "OutFront." 

Mamdani had reacted to Trump's backing of Cuomo earlier Monday at a canvas event in his Assembly district in Queens.   "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," Mamdani said.