In the closing weeks ahead of New York City's Democratic Party mayoral primary, as he appeared to be cruising toward capturing his party's nomination, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo focused his campaign's spotlight on President Donald Trump.
But following an unexpected loss to democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, Cuomo appears to have toned down his Trump messaging.
"Trump's coming for New York. Who do you think can stop him?" the narrator in a Cuomo campaign ad said, over images of the June rioting in Los Angeles sparked by Trump's immigration crackdown.
"Trump's at the city gates. We need someone experienced to slam them shut," the narrator said, as he suggested that Cuomo was the most experienced candidate to push back against the president's agenda.
The former three-term governor, who resigned amid twin scandals in 2021, pledged, if elected mayor, to protect New York City from what he suggested could be a possible future federal crackdown against immigration protests in the city. And he vowed to mount a national campaign to try and thwart Trump's agenda.
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But Mamdani's stunning victory over Cuomo and nine other candidates last month to capture the Democratic Party nomination rocked the race for mayor in the nation's most populous city.
And as Cuomo resets as he runs in the mayoral general election as an independent candidate, references to Trump have plummeted as the former governor stands for interviews. He didn't mention the president once in his video announcing his general election campaign.
Longtime Cuomo adviser and spokesman Rich Azzopardi said "that's not the case" when asked by Fox News Digital if the former governor was de-emphasizing Trump messaging.
"It's silly. It's only been eight days since the campaign had a relaunch," Azzopardi said. And he said that in the local interviews Cuomo has done, "it has been more local and pocketbook issues that have come up."
"I think New Yorkers know that the person best equipped to protect New York from any excesses that may come out of Washington is Andrew Cuomo, because he's done it before," Azzopardi added.
But Mamdani's campaign argues that Cuomo is taking a page from their playbook as he shines a spotlight on his proposals to lower the rent, build more housing, and improve public transportation.
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The 33-year-old Ugandan-born state assemblyman from Queens, who was backed by progressive champions Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, surged to a come-from-behind primary victory, thanks to an energetic campaign that put a major focus on affordability and New York City's high cost of living.
Mamdani made smart use of social media platforms, including TikTok, as he engaged low-propensity voters. He proposed eliminating fares to ride New York City's vast bus system, making CUNY (City University of New York) "tuition-free," freezing rents on municipal housing, offering "free childcare" for children up to age 5 and setting up government-run grocery stores.
And Mamdani, thanks in part to the efforts of a massive grassroots army of volunteers, rode a wave of support from younger and progressive voters to catapult himself into first place.
Cuomo now says he's committed to making New York a city with "lower rent, safer streets, where buying your first home is once again possible, where child care won't bankrupt you."
And he's taken aim at Mamdani for putting out "slick slogans, but no real solutions."
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Cuomo is one of four candidates in the general election who are taking on Mamdani, who, as the Democratic Party nominee, is the front-runner in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a roughly six-to-one margin.
Also in the race are Mayor Eric Adams, the embattled incumbent who announced earlier this year that he would seek re-election as an independent candidate, and Guardian Angels co-founder Curtis Sliwa, who for a second straight election is the Republican mayoral nominee.
And Jim Walden, a former federal prosecutor, is also running as an independent.
Cuomo, since his primary defeat, has noted that the general election electorate in New York City is much larger than the pool of voters who cast ballots in the Democratic nomination race.
"Only 13% of New Yorkers voted in the June primary," Cuomo said in his general election launch video.
And as he now faces a broader and more moderate electorate than that in the Democratic Party primary, Cuomo's apparent pivot away from Trump and towards issues of affordability appears strategic.
Azzopardi, pointing to the campaign re-launch, told Fox News, "It was important to hit the ground running to meet New Yorkers where they are, and that's what we're doing."
"The message is a simple one. It's New Yorkers are generally not hard-core pro-MAGA Trumpers, nor are they socialists. They are in the middle, and the governor is making the case about how he is the person best equipped to bring the first competent administration back to City Hall in 12 years," Azzopardi said.
But veteran Democratic strategist Lauren Hitt, who advised an anti-Cuomo super PAC in the Democratic primary, argued that New York City voters are likely to be skeptical of the former governor's message.
"Cuomo already had his chance to make New York more affordable, and he did just the opposite. So he can try to slap another label on his campaign, but New Yorkers already know they don't like what he's selling," Hitt said.
