Candidates sharpen attacks against one another after Eric Adams drops out of race for NYC mayor
NEW YORK (WABC) -- The top two candidates for New York City mayor spent the day sharpening their attacks against one another the day after Eric Adams suspended his campaign for reelection.
"He is anti-police, I want to hire more police, he wants to legalize prostitution," Cuomo said.
And it wasn't just Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo going after each other on Monday. President Donald Trump also weighed in and threatened to withhold federal funding from New York City if Mamdani does win.
Mamdani has a commanding lead over Cuomo in the polls, but that did not stop him from going on the attack but Cuomo stood his ground and fired back.
"What we see still on that ballot showcased by Andrew Cuomo is a record of broken promises, a record of disgrace," Mamdani said.
Mamdani was joined by Kasha Phillips-Lewis in Hudson Heights on Monday. She says she ended up in a shelter after the Advantage rental voucher program was cut in 2011 while Cuomo was governor.
Cuomo's campaign responded, saying that cut 14 years ago came amid a $10 billion shortfall, adding that Cuomo increased spending to more than $100 million a year on rental assistance programs.
Cuomo says he has a track record for creating affordable housing.
"I know how to do those things because I have done them, I was the HUD secretary under Bill Clinton, I built big projects as governor," Cuomo said.
The back and forth is a glimpse of how the next month on the campaign trail may play out.
The field is now down to three after Adams bowed out on Sunday, but he still remained a target on the campaign trail.
In an interview with Eyewitness News on Monday, Cuomo said Adams' absence in the race changes it dramatically and he believes he can win.
"Well, his presence would have mattered because you would have been covering him more every day, right? An incumbent mayor draws a lot of press attention, he was in the race and that's less focus on the other candidates," Cuomo said. "Obviously, Mr. Sliwa, I don't know if he stays in. I don't know if he gets out. That'll be his personal choice. But I think the race is going to focus on viable alternatives."
Curtis Sliwa repeated his vow to stay in the race, and like Mamdani, downplayed the mayor's decision to drop out.
"Eric Adams is so non-significant-he's a person of no consequence. He's got no followers. He's got no supporters," Sliwa said.
Meanwhile, Trump posted that Mamdani will prove to be one of the best things to ever happen to the Republican party... and that he'll need money from the federal government and won't be getting any of it.
"You still see an administration that looks at this city as something that has to be punished each and every day and what the city deserves is someone who will fight for it," Mamdani said.
Mamdani says he will be able to take on Trump while Cuomo said he is best-suited to take on Trump and that a Mamdani win would be a "political bonanza" for Trump and the Republicans.
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