Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate in the New York City mayoral race, faced an unexpected attack Friday from none other than the leader of his party, President Donald Trump.
It comes amid a lot of talk about Mr. Trump getting involved in the race and the possibility he might offer jobs to one or more candidates to clear the decks for a one-on-one contest between Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Sliwa doesn’t back down from catfight
In an interview, Mr. Trump expressed his apparent distaste for the man New York Republicans chose as their standard bearer in the mayor’s race.
“Look, I’m a Republican, but Curtis is not exactly prime time,” Mr. Trump said.
The president didn’t criticize Sliwa’s platform, however, but his dedication to those of the feline persuasion.
“He wants cats to be in Gracie Mansion … The magnificent home of the mayor. It’s beautiful. Gracie Mansion to me is like a fabled place if you’re in New York,” Mr. Trump said. “Now, we don’t need to have thousands of cats.”
Sliwa, who has made no secret of the fact that he and his wife share their studio apartment with a whole passel of cats, didn’t back down from the catfight.
“New Yorkers have a deep commitment to both people and animals, and Curtis Sliwa shares this passion. He is proud of his wife, Nancy, who has dedicated her life to fostering, caring for, and saving animals, often advocating for them when no one else would,” Sliwa’s campaign spokesperson said in a statement.
Mamdani’s nomination “a rebellion” from Democrats, president says
Mr. Trump also attributed the success of Mamdani in the primary election to the failure of the Democratic Party to offer voters good choices.
“That’s a rebellion. It’s also a rebellion against bad candidates, OK? It’s a rebellion. They’re tired of it,” he said. “You know, they’re seeing things happening … We have taxes being put on us in New York by Democrats that is so bad that even the Democrats are revolting.”
Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Adams, who is running for reelection as an independent, insisted that the rumors Mr. Trump might offer him a job to get him to drop out of the mayoral race have made it difficult for him to run.
“These rumors have impacted my ability to raise money, and it has undermined my campaign, and it has taken the ability of me getting my message out away from the voters,” Adams said.
Cuomo continued to try to get Adams to drop out.
“He is only serving to be a spoiler, and every day he stays in the race, he continues to be a spoiler and help Mamdani,” Cuomo said. “You get me [and] Mamdani one-on-one, I win.”
Mamdani was not on the campaign trail Friday, but he put out a video calling on New Yorkers to call on the New York State Power Authority to take steps to approve plans to develop new energy sources to reduce the high cost of gas and electricity.
