This week it’s been reported that President Donald Trump has expressed interest in helping former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his mission to defeat socialist Zohran Mamdani in Gotham’s mayor’s race.
At first blush this might seem counterintuitive, or even like it could help Zohran in his quest to remake the Big Apple in the image of Chairman Mao. But is it really so strange? In fact, it might be the very thing that Trump, Cuomo, and their respective parties need right now.
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One thing that Trump and Cuomo have in common is that both have been the targets of malicious, politically driven lawfare at the hands of New York Attorney General Letitia James. You remember her, the one who promised to prosecute Trump on the campaign trail, before even being elected?
James was also the driving force behind allegations that Cuomo committed sexual abuse as governor, a claim that never led to a criminal finding, but was enough to force the scion of New York politics to resign in disgrace.
This matters because both Trump and Cuomo have directly experienced the politics of personal animosity that is tearing so many Americans apart. This gives Cuomo the chance to be the candidate who can turn the page, and lift us out of hating each other.
For example, there is no reason why Cuomo should not be praising Trump’s closure of the southern border, a move that obviously takes enormous pressure off of New York City, which was drowning in illegal migrants.
Mamdani and his merry band of Marxists in the Democratic Socialists of America think securing the border inhumane and racist. Most people including a whole lot of New Yorkers, just think it’s common sense.
There are also Trump programs on homelessness, drug addiction, and crime that Cuomo could promise to be a partner on, to help the city, not simply a constant foil against Trump’s federal government.
A good model for Cuomo here is Democrat Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman. He certainly never shies away from attacking Trump, but has also sought common ground, even praising the president’s economic deals through tariffs.
Another big win that Cuomo would achieve through the backing of Trump is that it would all but neutralize Republican Candidate Curtis Sliwa, who deserves enormous credit for all he has done for the city, but almost certainly would not defy Trump, and stay in the race after an endorsement of Cuomo.
According to Decision Desk HQ, Mamdani currently holds 38% in the polls, with Cuomo at 25%, Sliwa at 15% and current Mayor Eric Adams at 11%. So with Sliwa votes alone, Cuomo would leapfrog into the lead.
The plain fact of the matter is that there is no way that Cuomo can run to Mamdani’s left. The only thing to the left of Zany Zohran is old-fashioned, food shortage communism. No, Cuomo’s only path is through the center.
It may also be that America’s path is through the center, and if Trump and Cuomo can achieve a detente, then maybe reasonable conversation can once again replace rage as the coin of our political realm.
From President Trump’s point of view, an embrace of Cuomo also makes sense. The greatest weapon, maybe the only one, that Democrats have against the president is outrage, and the idea that we are in the midst of some national emergency.
It is this fever pitch which empowers so many federal judges to thwart Trump in ruling after ruling, the leftist mantra of “this is not normal,” ringing in their ears and on the streets.
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The age of Trump is nearly a decade old, and whomever one blames, the corrosive damage done, not merely to our politics and our judiciary, but our social and cultural lives, has been enormous. Almost every American I talk to has lost a friend or a family member over it.
Maybe Trump and Cuomo can be a model for the country coming back together, as they almost were in the opening stages of COVID, when they regularly praised each other’s efforts, before the summer of 2020 threw the nation into chaos.
There are certainly many Republicans outside of New York rooting for Mamdani to become Hizzoner, to make him the face of the Democrat Party. But they should be careful what they wish for. Not long ago, Democrats felt the same way about Trump – until he won.
Cuomo has struggled to make a splash in this mayor’s race against the flashy and charming Mamdani. Making peace with Trump would certainly do that, and the result might not just be the salvation of New York City, it might be the salvation of the country.