Who is Pushing Trump to Support Andrew Cuomo?
By 
President Trump may have moved out of New York City, but he has privately discussed whether to intercede in its fractious race for mayor to try to stop Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, according to eight people briefed on the discussions.
In recent weeks, Mr. Trump has quizzed a Republican congressman and New York businessmen about who in the crowded field of candidates, which includes Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, has the best chance of beating Mr. Mamdani, the leftist front-runner.
The president has been briefed by Mark Penn, a pollster who has worked for Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Andrew Stein, a former New York City Council president and decades-long friend of Mr. Trump, on a range of polling that showed Mr. Cuomo could still be competitive as an independent candidate. Both men have pushed Mr. Cuomo as the best candidate despite his loss in the Democratic primary, including in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed. One of Mr. Penn’s firms did extensive work for a pro-Cuomo super PAC in the primary.
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Mr. Mamdani would be among the most left-leaning mayors the city has seen in decades, but he has said he is not a communist.
A few weeks later, and just days after Mr. Penn’s polling presentation to the president, Mr. Trump told reporters he thought Mr. Cuomo should stay in the race. “He’s running against a communist,” he said. “I would think that he would have a good shot of winning.”
In the Oval Office days before his meeting with Mr. Lawler, Mr. Trump met with Mr. Stein and Mr. Penn.
They showed him Mr. Penn’s data arguing that Mr. Cuomo would be competitive with Mr. Mamdani in a head-to-head race, absent Mr. Adams, according to two people briefed on what took place. Reliable public polling on the race has been scarce, though other private polls have suggested Mr. Mamdani has a more comfortable lead.
Mr. Trump was noncommittal, according to one of the people briefed on the discussion. He told the men that Mr. Cuomo would be likely to manage the city better than the other candidates, but that whoever won would ultimately “have to work with” the Trump administration, the person said.
Mr. Stein declined comment. Mr. Penn also declined comment.
At least Trump, centrist Democrats, and the New York Times can all agree that the real threat to America is a New York mayor elected by New York Democrats and who has actual values.