Zohran Mamdani pounced Thursday on a disputed report that Andrew Cuomo and Donald Trump have been playing political footsie — as even the suggestion sent shockwaves across the mayoral race and riled up the socialist’s base.
The Democratic mayoral nominee embarked on an all-out tour to galvanize Trump-hating voters, while insiders told The Post that White House officials have been actively calling New York lawmakers and politicos this week to figure out if the president should weigh in on the race.
Trump himself is unsure whether he should, one source told The Post.
But the president’s potential meddling was clearly seen as a boon by Mamdani, who trumpeted the New York Times’ report that Trump and the former governor recently had a phone call, which the president and Cuomo both flatly denied.
The Queens Assemblyman, during an WNYC interview, claimed Cuomo was “coordinating with” Trump, calling it “disqualifying” given the president’s supposed attacks on the city.
He carried on the critique during a hastily organized rally outside 26 Federal Plaza, where ICE agents have controversially been rounding up immigrants following routine court appearances.
“The job of mayor is not to audition to be the jester for a want-to-be king,” Mamdani railed, as he was flanked by union leaders.
“New Yorkers do not want a mayor who is working in tandem with the president to subvert the will of the people of New York City.”
Mamdani’s win in the June Democratic primary puts an unabashed socialist within a stone’s throw of Gracie Mansion, as polls show him far ahead of Cuomo, Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa in the November general election.
Insiders said Trump, a Queens native who keeps a close eye on New York City despite decamping for Florida, has been very concerned about Mamdani becoming mayor.
“President Trump thinks it will be a disaster if the little commie Mamdani wins the mayoralty,” said Andrew Stein, the former City Council president who is a pal of both Trump and Cuomo.
“The president loves New York. He’s a New Yorker at heart.”
Stein, who is backing Cuomo, confirmed he went to the White House a few weeks ago and discussed the mayor’s race.
Billionaire John Catsimatidis, a backer and friend to both Adams and Trump, said he had dinner with the president last week and told him to wait to weigh in until September.
“He loves New York and wants quality-of-life to be right and it to be the capital of capitalism,” he said about Trump.
The president last month shockingly told reporters that Cuomo should stay in the race despite his embarrassing defeat to Mamdani in the primary, adding about the ex-gov: “I think he has a shot.”
But a source said Trump isn’t happy with the field of mayoral candidates.
The president thinks Adams is a politically tainted likely “loser” who cannot win re-election. He also dislikes Cuomo, despite a relationship going back decades — and ditto for Sliwa, who marches to the beat of a political drum unaligned with MAGA, the source said.
Trump and Sliwa have a beef going back years that can’t be reconciled, sources said.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, a Democratic power player, said Trump meddling in the race would be a gift for Mamdani – and that an endorsement from the Republican president would be a kiss of death for any candidate in deep-blue New York City.
Any hint of Trump backing Cuomo or Adams will drive more Democratic voters, particularly older black and Latino voters, into Mamdani’s lap, he said.
“It’s a gift with a bow on it,” Sharpton said.
“If I were running for mayor the last person I would want supporting me is Donald Trump. If I were Mamdani I’d say, ‘A vote for my opponent is a vote for Trump.’”
Trump, despite making gains in New York City during the 2024 election, remains unpopular in his home city. A recent poll found that Trump’s unfavorability stands at 62% in the city, while Mamdani is the only mayoral candidate whose favorability wasn’t deep underwater.
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Mamdani argued Thursday he was the only candidate worthy of being elected given Adams allegedly being compromised by the president’s Justice Department scuttling his federal criminal case, and Sliwa being the GOP nominee.
“The fact is, the president has three candidates in this race,” he said.
“One that he’s directly been in touch with, another that he bailed out of legal trouble and now functionally controls and the final one literally being a member of the same Republican Party.”