NEW YORK — Andrew Cuomo hasn’t won the New York City mayor’s race yet, but he’s already planning a national campaign to take on President Donald Trump — whose Department of Justice is reportedly investigating him.
Cuomo pointed to the tactic when asked how he’d handle working with the president while potentially under criminal investigation.
After news of the DOJ probe broke, he cut an ad portraying himself as a victim of a weaponized justice system.
His spokesperson slammed the investigation as “lawfare and election interference.” In the interview, Cuomo said any Democratic mayor is vulnerable to Trump’s attacks.
There’s a long history of New York City mayors failing to springboard to a national role.
NEW YORK — Andrew Cuomo is already organizing a nationwide campaign to challenge President Donald Trump, whose Department of Justice is allegedly looking into him, even though he hasn’t yet won the race for mayor of New York City.
The frontrunner for mayor of New York City stated in a lengthy interview with POLITICO last week that he intends to run against Trump’s proposed Medicaid cuts in order to support Democrats in swing House districts nationwide. He claims that this is a political tactic that could help his party retake the House. When asked how he would respond to working with the president while possibly being the subject of a criminal investigation, Cuomo cited the strategy.
“I would go to that U.S. and spend eight years in Washington. A. He said, “Conference of Mayors, visit the National Governors Association.”. Medicaid is being cut by him. A blue-city, blue-state scenario does not apply to Medicaid. In all states, that is. Many of those congressional districts are red. And if you organized it and got it going, he might lose the House on Medicaid cuts. “”.
He continued by saying, “You’re going to have to be an advocate, spokesperson, and organizer.”. This is what Medicaid means in Texas, and this is what it means in Mississippi. There aren’t many congressional seats left for them to lose, so you plan that out. “.”.
As mayor of New York City, a job that is largely funded by the federal government, he was responding to a question about what power he would have in the face of a presidential administration that is allegedly looking into him in what he called a “laughable” investigation.
The New York Times reported two weeks ago that the Department of Justice was investigating Cuomo after House Republicans said he had lied to Congress about his gubernatorial administration’s report on deaths in nursing homes during COVID-19. There is still debate surrounding Cuomo’s directive requiring nursing homes to admit patients with COVID-19. He claims to have been acting in accordance with federal directives, but detractors claim he put thousands of New Yorkers in danger and then underreported their fatalities.
In the interview, Cuomo reiterated his earlier claim that he was not involved in his administration’s report, which Congressional Republicans claim he did not recall reviewing or revising.
“My issue is that I can’t remember.”. I don’t remember any incorrect statements in it,” Cuomo declared, characterizing it as “purely political nonsense.”. “”.
He told POLITICO that the Department of Justice has not gotten in touch with him and that he has not yet received a subpoena during a press conference on Sunday.
Critics claim that Cuomo misused the authority he was given during his three terms as governor of New York. Making a zero with his fingers to show the disparity between the two positions, he acknowledged that a mayor has comparatively less power than a president. According to him, if the Republican president punishes him or the city he wants to lead, he will use political organizing to make up for the lack of structural power.
He asked, “What is Medicaid going to mean in Lawler’s district?” Lawler’s district is a swing seat in New York that is held by Republican Rep. Lawler, Mike. But how you actually make a difference is what it will mean on a national level. “.”.
In the crowded Democratic primary, Cuomo is ahead of all polls to defeat Mayor Eric Adams, who is seeking reelection in November as an independent. The mayor was forced out of the primary and his reputation was further damaged by his interactions with Trump after a federal corruption indictment was thrown out by a judge at the White House’s request in what several prosecutors referred to as a quid pro quo.
Cuomo offered some tactful responses about how he would handle Trump shortly after entering the race in March, pointing out that they both hail from Queens and that the president is aware of the needs of New York City.
His rhetoric has since become more tough, though, probably in recognition of the desire of New York Democratic voters for a resistance fighter. He shot an advertisement depicting himself as a victim of a weaponized legal system after the DOJ investigation was made public. The inquiry was denounced by his spokesperson as “election interference and lawfare.”. “.”.
Any Democratic mayor is susceptible to Trump’s attacks, Cuomo stated in the interview.
It is assumed that anyone elected mayor will be subject to an investigation. Make that assumption. He called it “the price of admission” and threatened to look into them for leverage if they disagreed with Trump. He went on to say he thinks Trump is targeting him because he is most scared of confrontation.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai responded to Cuomo’s remarks regarding the investigation and his national plans by saying, “Thousands of New York’s most vulnerable people died in nursing homes as a result of Andrew Cuomo’s obvious incompetence and disrespect for science the last time he had a say in health care. Democrats do not want Cuomo to thwart Republicans’ reasonable attempt to preserve Medicaid by removing illegal immigrants from the program. “”.
When the DOJ investigation was announced, Trump told reporters he was “surprised.”. “.”.
“Andrew is someone I know. Our relationship has been intermittent. The following day, he would hit us after saying the most amazing things about me. And I helped them a lot,” Trump remarked. I hope it won’t be serious for him, though, and that everything will be alright. We shall see. “”.
Cuomo was a well-known national government official and career politician who resigned in 2021 after a state attorney general’s report found he had sexually harassed female employees, and he was largely forgotten for four years. He has expressed regret for stepping down from office and strongly disputes the results.
Gaining the mayoralty, which comes with a big bully pulpit, would return him to the limelight he so desperately wants.
He stated that he sees a chance to advocate for Democrats nationally but is not considering a position outside of mayor.
New York City mayors have a lengthy history of failing to advance to a national position. In their individual presidential campaigns, Bill de Blasio, Mike Bloomberg, and Rudy Giuliani all lost. Adams also shattered his own early aspirations to be the party’s standard bearer, or the “Biden of Brooklyn,” as he referred to a better time for both of them.
A cautious and risk-averse politician, Cuomo appears to be eyeing a larger role as well.
He dismissed his opponents’ accusations that Trump supporters were contributing to a well-funded super PAC that was supporting his campaign in order to win City Hall.
He remarked, “I’m not even sure if they’re Trump donors.”. I received a donation from Bill Ackman prior to the Trump administration. I knew these people prior to Trump. They are Cuomo donors who might have backed Trump, not Trump donors. “.”.
