Billionaire Michael Bloomberg reaffirmed his support for former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in the race for New York mayor, stressing that “Cuomo has the experience and toughness” to stand up for the city's residents.
In a post on X Bloomberg, which previously served as mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, he noted that the position of mayor of New York City “is the second toughest job in America.”
“Four months ago, I endorsed @AndrewCuomo because I believed his leadership experience and government know-how made him the best choice for New Yorkers,” Bloomberg wrote. “I still think so. And today, with early voting underway, I would like to reiterate my support for Andrew Cuomo.”
Bloomberg continued: “Being the mayor of New York is the second toughest job in America, and the next mayor will face enormous challenges. Andrew Cuomo has the experience and toughness to stand up for New Yorkers and get things done. I hope you will join me in supporting him.”
Bloomberg's comments come after he gave $1.5 million to a Super PAC called Fix the City, which is “run by a longtime Cuomo ally.” New York Times reported.
The money given to the Super PAC also represents Bloomberg's “first foray into the mayoral race since the Democratic primary” and because the city's “business elite” has threatened to spend an estimated $100 million as part of an effort to “knock” socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani out of the race, the outlet reported.
While Mr. Bloomberg reportedly “feuded with Mr. Cuomo when he was governor,” he and Mr. Mamdani “have sharper differences,” according to the outlet.
Bloomberg's endorsement of Cuomo in the upcoming mayoral race comes in a similar vein to Mamdani's defended for urban grocery stores and has proposed dispatching “mental health experts” to respond to certain crimes instead of police officers.
Breitbart News also reported that Mamdani was criticized for comments he made on a podcast in July 2020 in which he opposed sending police officers to respond to domestic violence calls. Mamdani said in a podcast that “the police do not provide security”:
The police do not provide security… we have given the police so many responsibilities that frankly should have nothing to do with their departments… if someone is crossing the road, if someone is a survivor, experiencing domestic violence – there are so many different, different situations that would be much better handled by people trained to handle those specific situations rather than a person with a gun.
The Quinnipiac University poll, conducted Oct. 23-27, surveyed 911 likely voters in New York City. found that Mamdani was in the lead with 43 percent support, while Cuomo received 33 percent support. Republican New York City mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa received 14 percent support.
