Campaign trail After Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary in June 2025, several business executives reportedly began meeting with incumbent Eric Adams as they considered backing him in the general election. Jim Walden called for all "non-Mamdani" candidates to "coalesce" around one candidate in the weeks just before the election, in order to prevent
vote splitting. Walden later doubled down, pledging to drop out of the race by September if he was not the leading "non-Mamdani" candidate while giving an interview to
CBS News on
The Point. Walden would drop out of the race on September 2, again urging for a "one-on-one race" and calling Mamdani the "most dangerous" option for mayor. On July 1, President
Donald Trump voiced support for Adams, describing him as a "very good person" and stating that he "helped him out a little bit"—in reference to his corruption case being dropped by Trump's Department of Justice—while also threatening to arrest Mamdani. During an unrelated press conference, Adams commented that "anyone that is an elected or not should never interfere with federal authorities carrying out their functions". Trump also suggested the possibility of placing New York under federal control if Mamdani wins. Adams initially responded with a statement on September 5 that he would not be withdrawing from the race. Adams later withdrew his candidacy on September 28, stating that his campaign was "underserved, the marginalized, the abandoned and betrayed by government" as both the state and national Democratic parties increasingly coalesced around Mamdani instead of Adams. By early August, Sliwa began reworking his own personal style and his platform, foregoing his iconic red beret, claiming it had become too much of a "defining issue" distracting from his campaign. Additionally, Sliwa started attempting to court
labor unions, portraying himself as pro-worker and anti-
fat cat. Since launching his independent campaign, Cuomo sought to promote a
centrist platform, stating
socialism, specifically the brand Mamdani supports, "has never worked anywhere". Cuomo offered milder alternatives to some of Mamdani's policy platforms such as opposing free busses, arguing they would cost $900 million, instead proposing a $180 million bus subsidy paid for by an increased property tax. Cuomo's campaign initially issued a statement that the two did not talk about politics on the call, but later backtracked and claimed that the call never happened. Cuomo reportedly said about Trump, "I know, personally, he doesn't want to fight with me. Personally, I don't want to fight with him, right? So I don't think he's going to be eager to create a conflict with us". Trump formally endorsed Cuomo the day before the election alongside
Elon Musk; this was met by dismay from his support base and was described as a "poison pill" and "final nail in the coffin" for his campaign due to just how unpopular both are with New York City Democrats. The endorsement was also seen as the culmination of weeks of campaigning by Cuomo to eat into Sliwa's voter base in order to close the gap with Mamdani, and was generally well received by the City's Republicans. Mamdani's victory in the Democratic primary galvanized the
Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) to make more of a push to influence the Democratic Party, with the DSA convention in Chicago on August 7 primarily centered around standing and supporting more Mamdani-like candidates. Mamdani also sought to capitalize on Cuomo's call with Trump, calling it a "betrayal" of Democratic voters, and alleging that Cuomo and Trump are conspiring to "rig" the mayoral election against him, especially as Trump routinely questions Mamdani's status as a U.S. citizen.
Campaign controversies In July 2025,
The New York Times wrote that on Mamdani's unsuccessful 2009 application to
Columbia University, he checked the race boxes "Asian" and "Black or African American". Mamdani confirmed that, but said his intent was to represent his Indian-Ugandan background given the limited options available, and not to improve his chances of admission. Some of Mamdani's opponents described his action as potentially fraudulent, while his defenders said it was legitimate, or at least trivial. Less than two weeks later, Tom Donlon, who had served as interim
NYPD commissioner, filed suit against Adams and high-ranking NYPD officials, alleging that they had engaged in a "coordinated criminal conspiracy" to enrich themselves, prevented executive misconduct investigations, forged documents, and engaged in retaliation. In August 2025, Cuomo falsely claimed that Mamdani lived in a
rent-controlled apartment, and that Mamdani's tenancy was responsible for the fact that "somewhere last night in New York City, a single mother and her children slept at a
homeless shelter."
The New York Times and
ABC News wrote that Cuomo's attack reflects a larger debate on who should benefit from government regulation of housing costs, with housing experts and tenant advocates immediately panning Cuomo's proposal to
means-test rent-stabilized apartments. In October 2025, the
New York Knicks sent a
cease-and-desist letter to Mamdani after his campaign launched an ad using a logo with a significant resemblance to that of the Knicks. In a statement, the
NBA team said they wanted to make it clear they "do not endorse Mr Mamdani for Mayor", and added that they "will pursue all legal remedies" to prevent further use of their
copyrighted logo. The mispronunciation of Mamdani's name by Cuomo was first noticed during the
Democratic mayoral primary debate in 2025. In the
general election debates, both Cuomo and
Republican contender
Curtis Sliwa mispronounced his name. American president
Donald Trump and his press secretary
Karoline Leavitt also had trouble with the last name. Billionaire
Elon Musk intentionally misspelled Mamdani's name in his written endorsement for Cuomo, calling him "Mumdumi or whatever his name is." Even his political allies, such as
Letitia James,
Bill de Blasio,
Carl Heastie, and
John Samuelsen have mispronounced the name. The
Kashmir Times commented that, in contrast to former president
Barack Obama, "Mamdani pronounces his own name slowly until others get it right."
Allegations of Islamophobia and antisemitism Following his upset win in the Democratic primary, criticisms and attacks against Mamdani utilized
Islamophobic, racist, or
xenophobic content, and
Islamophobic tropes, particularly with references to the
9/11 attacks and terrorism. These criticisms and attacks came from across the political spectrum, and sparked concern and debate over the usage of
Islamophobia in mainstream American politics. A number of Republican politicians attacked Mamdani referencing 9/11. U.S. Representative
Nancy Mace wrote on X (formerly
Twitter), "After 9/11 we said 'Never Forget.' I think we sadly have forgotten." Representative
Marjorie Taylor Greene posted an image of the
Statue of Liberty wearing a
burqa. Others associated with
Trumpism and the
MAGA movement, including
Laura Loomer,
Charlie Kirk, and
Donald Trump Jr., also attacked Mamdani in the context of 9/11. The
Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) noted a significant increase in Islamophobic content on X the day after Mamdani became the presumptive nominee, which was attributed to commentary from Republican figures. Several Republicans also weaponized Mamdani's immigration status and threatened
denaturalization. CAIR condemned Ogles's use of "little muhammad" as Islamophobic and racist. On July 1, Trump suggested without evidence that Mamdani might be in the U.S. illegally, adding that his administration would look into that question. Trump threatened to arrest Mamdani and withhold funding from New York City if he refused to comply with Trump's
mass deportations. Trump also suggested a federal takeover of New York City if Mamdani is elected. During an interview on
The Brian Lehrer Show, New York Democratic U.S. senator
Kirsten Gillibrand claimed that Mamdani supports violence against
Jewish people based on "past positions, particularly references to global
jihad". These comments and positions could not be substantiated, and were in many cases contradicted by Mamdani's own statements condemning extremism. Her office later said she "misspoke" and she apologized to Mamdani. New York City-area U.S. Representatives
Tom Suozzi,
Laura Gillen, and
Dan Goldman, as well as California U.S. Representative
Eric Swalwell, all criticized Mamdani for past remarks about the phrase "
globalize the intifada". Like Republicans, Democratic figures attacked Mamdani with references to 9/11. Actress and activist
Debra Messing, who is a member of the Democratic Party, claimed that Mamdani "celebrates 9/11" and she did not want "a mayor who sides with terrorists". She also connected him with
Hamas and the
October 7 attacks. A leaked mailer proposal on behalf of Cuomo's donors received backlash for digitally altering a picture of Mamdani to resemble a
stereotype of Muslim terrorists. On October 23, while on the
WABC radio show
Sid and Friends in the Morning, Cuomo asked "God forbid, another 9/11—can you imagine Mamdani in the seat?"
Sid Rosenberg replied "He'd be cheering", to which Cuomo laughed and stated "That's another problem". Mamdani condemned the comments as "disgusting".
Allegations of homophobia Both Mamdani and Cuomo's respective records of LGBT rights came under scrutiny. During the primary, several LGBT clubs and organizations reported that Cuomo was ignoring them, including refusing to partake in interviews and questionnaires and skipping mayoral forums by various LGBT clubs and organizations. Several organizations and clubs also accused him of simultaneously "inflating his advocacy" on LGBT rights. During the campaign, Cuomo repeatedly alleged that Mamdani was homophobic due to his dual citizenship in
Uganda, a country with
a hostile anti-LGBT record. Cuomo repeated the claims in October after Mamdani was seen in a recently-taken photo with Ugandan first deputy prime minister
Rebecca Kadaga, who pushed for legislation that legalized
the death penalty for LGBT Ugandans in 2023. Mamdani responded, "Had I known that she was the architect of this horrific legislation and attack on queer Ugandans, I would not have taken it." Mamdani affirmed his support for LGBT New Yorkers throughout his mayoral campaign, including promises to establish New York as an LGBTQ+ sanctuary city, as well as expanding support for the LGBTQ+ community. Cuomo was criticized by Mamdani for
his father's distribution of homophobic campaign posters against
Ed Koch – a
closeted gay man – in the
1977 mayoral election; Cuomo denied any connection to the signs. ==Endorsements==