Donald Trump endorsed former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the 2025 New York City mayoral race.

Quick Scoop

  • In early November 2025, on the eve of the NYC mayoral election, Trump publicly urged New Yorkers to vote for Andrew Cuomo, who was running as an independent.
  • Trump framed the choice as between Cuomo and Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, repeatedly attacking Mamdani as a “communist” while saying voters “have no choice” but to back Cuomo.
  • The endorsement was widely described as controversial and was even seen by some analysts as a “poison pill” for Cuomo’s campaign, given Trump’s unpopularity among many New York City Democrats.

A bit more context

  • The 2025 NYC mayoral election featured Zohran Mamdani (Democrat), Andrew Cuomo (independent, former governor), and Curtis Sliwa (Republican).
  • Trump had previously flirted with boosting other non-Mamdani candidates but ultimately chose Cuomo, arguing that consolidating the anti-Mamdani vote was necessary.
  • Despite the late endorsement, Mamdani went on to win the election and later met with Trump at the White House, where both struck a more cordial tone after the race.

TL;DR: Trump’s pick for NYC mayor in 2025 was Andrew Cuomo, whom he backed as the best option to stop Zohran Mamdani.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.