US President Donald Trump has endorsed Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayoral race, urging voters to back the former governor over Democratic front-runner Zohran Mamdani.

In a post on Truth Social on Monday evening, Trump wrote, “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. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!”

The endorsement comes just a day before New Yorkers head to the polls for the highly watched mayoral election.

Trump warns against funding under Mamdani’s leadership

Earlier on Sunday, Trump warned he would be reluctant to send federal funding to New York if Mamdani were elected mayor.

“It’s gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York, because if you have a Communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there,” he said in a televised interview.

Trump’s remarks mark a rare show of support for Cuomo, who is running as an Independent candidate after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani. The Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa, remains far behind in opinion polls.

Without explicitly endorsing Sliwa, Trump said, “A vote for Curtis Sliwa … is a vote for Mamdani,” adding that it was “highly unlikely” his administration would contribute federal funds “other than the very minimum as required” if Mamdani wins.

Mamdani leads in polls

According to opinion polls, Mamdani continues to lead Cuomo, with Sliwa trailing. The 34-year-old state assemblyman has been branded by Trump as a “Communist”, though Mamdani has rejected the label, describing himself as a democratic socialist.

In one interview, Mamdani joked he was “kind of like a Scandinavian politician — only browner”.

He said on Monday, “The answer to a Donald Trump presidency is not to create its mirror image here in City Hall. It is to create an alternative that can speak to what New Yorkers are so desperate to see — a city that believes in the dignity of everyone who calls this place home.”

Cuomo positions himself as experienced alternative

Cuomo, who served as New York governor during the Covid-19 pandemic, has sought to project himself as the only candidate capable of handling the Trump administration’s challenges.

“I fought Donald Trump,” Cuomo said during a debate. “When I’m fighting for New York, I am not going to stop.”

While Cuomo gained national attention for his pandemic response, he later faced criticism after state investigators revealed that nursing home deaths were significantly understated during the outbreak.

Federal funding concerns resurface

New York City received $7.4 billion in federal funding in the current fiscal year. The Trump administration has previously sought to restrict grants to Democratic-led cities, especially those limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Trump, who grew up in Queens and continues to own property in the city, reiterated his disapproval of Mamdani, telling CBS’s 60 Minutes, “I got to see [former mayor Bill] de Blasio, how bad a mayor he was, and this man will do a worse job than de Blasio by far.”