NYC Mayor Adams dings Cuomo over 'history of sabotaging Black electeds'

Mayor Eric Adams is playing the race card against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the New York mayoral race.

Mr. Adams said Mr. Cuomo’s decision to run against him is just the latest example of his kneecapping Black leaders and candidates. 

“People who are not in government really don’t fully understand how Andrew has operated. He has a history of sabotaging Black electeds,” Mr. Adams said Wednesday on GMGT Live’s “The Reset Talk Show.”

Mr. Adams highlighted how Mr. Cuomo ran against Carl McCall for the Democratic Party’s nomination in the 2002 governor’s race, and against Charlie King for the Democratic attorney general nomination in 2006.

Mr. King also served as Mr. Cuomo’s running mate in his 2002 gubernatorial bid. Mr. King, now a political consultant, remains one of Mr. Cuomo’s trusted confidantes and was one of his mayoral campaign’s early hires.

Mr. Adams also stated that Mr. Cuomo told the city’s Black leaders he would not run for mayor if he sought re-election.

“There’s just a long history,” Mr. Adams said. 

Mr. Adams’ re-election prospects took a hit late last year when he was indicted on federal bribery and corruption charges.

However, the Democrat caught a major break when the new Trump-led Justice Department announced it would not pursue the charges, saying they would get in the way of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.

The decision opened him up to allegations that he was involved in a quid pro quo arrangement with the Trump administration.

Mr. Adams, a Democrat, is now running as an independent in a race that also features Zohran Mamdani, the socialist who defeated Mr. Cuomo in the Democratic primary by almost 13 percentage points.

Mr. Cuomo is polling stronger than Mr. Adams, who suffers from a dismal approval rating. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Adams and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa have rejected Mr. Cuomo’s call for the anti-Mamdani forces to rally in mid-September behind the candidate who is polling best at that time.

Mr. Adams says he is just revving up his campaign, and does not plan on going anywhere.

“I’m not going to focus on his shenanigans,” Mr. Adams said of Mr. Cuomo.