Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been ridiculed after a provocative tweet aimed at New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is the frontrunner in the mayoral race after beating Cuomo and others in the Democratic primary in June. Cuomo conceded to Mamdani, but is now running as an independent. The competitive field also includes the current mayor, Eric Adams, who is also running as an independent.
Cuomo took to X Friday night to remind people of his famous New York family.
“In case you forgot, I’m Andrew Cuomo, son of Mario, grandson of Andrea. Welcome to the heavyweight bout, @ZohranKMamdani. This is a two man race. You look tired already. It’s just the second round,” he wrote.
Cuomo’s father served as New York governor from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. Mario Cuomo’s father, Andrea Cuomo, opened a grocery store in Queens after emigrating from Sicily.
The former governor’s post was met with some harsh mockery.
Mehdi Hasan, former MSNBC anchor and CEO of the media company Zeteo News, mimmicked the gist of Cuomo’s tweet, writing, “‘In case you forgot, I’m a nepo baby!’”
Film producer Franklin Leonard corrected Cuomo, “Technically, this is a rematch. You got knocked out in the first fight.”
Mamdani won the Democratic primary with 43.8 percent of the vote in what was seen as a shock victory, while Cuomo trailed with 36.1 percent.
Journalist Keith Olbermann, who previously worked for MSNBC, commented on Cuomo’s post: “You’ll need to provide a paternity test because you sure as hell aren’t acting as smart as either of them.”
The Independent has reached out to representatives for Cuomo and Mamdani for comment.
There are just a few months left until the mayoral election in November, and a recent poll showed Mamdani leading his opponents by 50 percent among likely voters.
The poll conducted by Public Progress Solutions and Zenith Research last month saw Mandani with 50 percent of the vote and Cuomo with 22 percent in a five-way race. Adams trailed in fourth place with 7 percent of the vote.
The New York Times recently reported President Donald Trump took a call with his old foe, Cuomo, as he considers intervening in the competitive race.
Trump had previously threatened to arrest Mamdani if he won the election and then followed through on his promise to defy Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in New York City.
In response to the NYT’s reporting, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi told The Independent, “The Governor and the President have not spoken in some time. As far as I know, they have not discussed the race.”
Azzopardi suggested Trump would be more interested in Mamdani or the other candidates in the race.
“Regarding his reported interest, it seems clear that President Trump would either prefer Mr. Mamdani, whom he refers to as a ‘commie,’ because he believes Mamdani would serve as a political boon to Republicans nationwide in the midterms, symbolizing what he sees as the Democratic Party’s extremism,” he told The Independent.
“Alternatively, he may favor Eric Adams, who is a wholly owned subsidiary of the President. And there is already a Republican in the race [Curtis Sliwa], who is the nominee of President Trump’s party.”
Mamdani also responded to the reporting with a blistering attack on the Trump administration.
“Whatever Donald Trump seeks to do to influence the outcome of this election, I have more faith in New Yorkers themselves, who have shown…that they do not want to support our current president’s vision of a New York City that is ripping immigrants from their homes, that is detaining New Yorkers on the basis of political expression.”
“What they want is someone who can stand up to an authoritarian administration,” Mamdani added.
