Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo argued that rival New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani would be a "gift" to President Donald Trump during an interview on "The View" Monday.
Co-host Joy Behar pressed Cuomo, who is running for mayor as an independent, to respond to Mamdani's accusation that the former governor was coordinating with Trump. Mamdani appeared on the ABC News talk show last week.
"I am the last person President Trump wants as mayor of New York City," Cuomo said, denying an August New York Times report that he spoke to Trump by phone.
"Because he dealt with me as governor - New Yorkers watched the movie every day. During COVID, I was the governor, he was the president. We fought on a daily basis. He came with all his threats and all his power and might, threatened to put me in jail, had me investigated twice by the Department of Justice, threatened to cut off federal funds," Cuomo added.
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Behar asked Cuomo if he believed Trump wanted Mamdani to win.
"Mamdani is a gift for him - a gift," Cuomo told the co-hosts.
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin agreed and said Trump was "not a fan" of the former governor.
"He wants Mamdani, for two reasons. One, going into the midterms, he will take a picture of Mamdani, run around the country and say, 'Here is what happened to the Democrats. They are now communists, they hate the police, they legalize prostitution, legalize drugs, they want to elect this Democrat, no experience whatsoever - being mayor of New York would be his first real job,'" he said.
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Cuomo also said that a Mamdani victory would allow Trump to "take over" New York City.
"It's the excuse he needs to take over New York - which he said he will do. He said if they elect this person, then I, Donald Trump, am going to have to step in, take over New York to protect the good people of New York. That's what's going to happen," he said.
During an appearance on "The View" last week, Mamdani - a self-identified democratic socialist - denied being a "communist."
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Griffin also pressed Mamdani on his past anti-police comments and asked whether he had apologized to the NYPD.
"They can rest assured that it isn't consultants in my ear and I think this is another part of - to be a young person looking to lead is also to leave the opening for growth and understanding. And I can tell you growing up in this city, I thought often about safety and justice, and I saw how justice was often left aside," he said.
When asked about an apology, he said he was talking to police officers "individually."
