Trump says Zohran Mamdani likely to be New York’s next mayor unless 2 of his opponents quit the race

WASHINGTON D.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he thinks Democrat Zohran Mamdani is likely to become New York City’s next mayor unless two of the three major candidates running against him drop out of the race. But the Republican didn’t say which two candidates he’d like to see quit.

Trump said “No” when he was asked by a reporter Thursday night if he’d urged or encouraged any of the candidates in the race to drop out, but went on to say he would like to see that happen.

“I don’t think you can win unless you have one-on-one, and somehow he’s gotten a little bit of a lead,” Trump said of Mamdani. “I have no idea how that happened.”

The president, who spoke as he hosted a dinner at the White House with tech executives, went on and said, “I would like to see two people drop out and have it be one-on-one, and I think that’s a race that could be won.”

Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, has been the presumptive favorite in the election since soundly beating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary in June. But Cuomo is still on the ballot as an independent, as is incumbent Mayor Eric Adams. Joining those three Democrats in the field is Republican Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group.

Recently, intermediaries for Trump reached out to people close to Adams to talk about whether he would consider abandoning his reelection campaign to take a federal job, according to people familiar with those conversations who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the talks.

On a recent trip to Miami, Adams met with Steve Witkoff, a former real estate developer in New York who is now one of Trump’s main diplomatic envoys in Washington, according to one of the people briefed on the discussions.

Adams acknowledged meeting with “several political figures” on his Florida trip, which he said was to “deal with some personal issues.” But he has repeatedly insisted he won’t quit.

Adams reiterated his intention of staying in the race Thursday, adding that he wasn’t bothered by growing calls for him to end his campaign.

“No pressure, no diamonds,” Adams told reporters at an event touting an endorsement from some Muslim leaders. “Just because people yell at you and call your names, and just because a number of people ask you to step down or don’t do what you believe, you’re supposed to succumb to that? That’s not what I do.”

Adams’ campaign was deeply wounded when he was indicted on corruption charges last year, then developed a warm relationship with Trump that bothered many Democrats in one of the country’s most liberal cities. There was further backlash from Democrats after the Justice Department said it was dropping the case so that Adams could assist with Trump’s immigration crackdown.

At a news conference Thursday, Cuomo called on Adams to drop out.

“If Mamdani is the existential threat, if you believe that, then at a point you should defer to the strongest candidates,” Cuomo said.

Sliwa, meanwhile, has cast himself as the best candidate to take on Mamdani.

“The assumption here is that Eric Adams’ voters, if he does drop out, are all going to jump to Cuomo. That ain’t happening,” Sliwa said in an interview. “There’s a lot of anger toward Cuomo. They’ve been going back and forth like two scorpions in a brandy glass.”

Sliwa added that he also isn’t quitting, and said no one from the Trump administration had reached out yet to urge him to do so.

“I can assure you for 9,852th time in this campaign I’ve had to answer this: I’m not dropping out. I’m in it until November 4,” he said. “I don’t care if people drop out. I’d encourage them to stay in. Let the people decide. That’s what democracy is about, a vote.”

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Associated Press writer Jake Offenhartz contributed to this report from New York. Izaguirre reported from New York.