Mamdani: Trump's donors 'will not dictate' NYC mayoral race

Source: The Hill

09/28/25 9:25 PM ET


New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani said President Trump’s donors “will not dictate” the race, hours after incumbent Mayor Eric Adams ended his reelection bid. “Donald Trump and his billionaire donors may be able to determine the actions of Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo, but they will not dictate the results of this election,” Mamdani said on MSNBC Sunday evening. “This continues to be the same election as it was when we started on October 23rd [2024].”

Adams dropped out of the race Sunday, just over three weeks after he vowed to stay in. The mayor, who was running an independent campaign since April, reportedly met with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff earlier this month to discuss a potential role in the administration.

Curtis Sliwa, the Republican mayoral nominee, also said last week that he has received monetary offers from wealthy New Yorkers to drop out of the race. It is unclear however whether the individuals, who Sliwa did not name, are Trump donors.

Cuomo, the former New York governor who is running an independent mayoral campaign, denied speaking to Trump after a New York Times report said they talked over the phone. Mamdani, who defeated Cuomo and a host of contenders to win the Democratic nod over the summer, slammed Trump’s reported efforts to reduce the contest to a two-man race.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5526418-nyc-mayor-race-mamdani-trump/