NYC democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani kicked off a tour in the city’s five boroughs on Monday, emphasizing a key message that connects former governor Andrew Cuomo with US President Donald Trump. “There is no world that will be free from Trump’s cruelty,” Mamdani stated, cautioning that Trump’s policies could strip millions of healthcare, Medicaid, food, and housing support, reported the Washington Times. “We see far too many [similarities] between Donald Trump and Andrew Cuomo,” he said. “Far too many stories that make clear that both administrations have been characterized by corruption, by a sense of impunity, by an inability of an executive to understand that ‘No means no.’”Mamdani joined US Rep. Jerry Nadler and other city leaders in Midtown Manhattan to showcase his broad support ahead of the November election, despite the lack of endorsement from key Democratic Party figures.“The truth is Cuomo and Trump are very similar,” said Nadler in the event on Monday, reported CNN. “Both use their power to serve themselves and their wealthy donors, not the people.”With less than three months remaining before the November general elections, both Mamdani and Cuomo, who is now running as an independent following his surprise defeat in the June primary, are rallying around critical points of attack.“Somewhere last night in New York City, a single mother and her children slept at a homeless shelter because you, assemblyman @ZohranKMamdani are occupying her rent controlled apartment,” said Cuomo through a post on X.Cuomo pointed out that Mamdani’s background as the son of Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani and filmmaker Mira Nair to claim his housing policies are hypocritical.“Today, I am calling on you to move out immediately and give your affordable housing back to an unhoused family who need it. Leaders must show moral clarity. Time to move out,” he said. Mamdani pushed back, saying he is “not threatened by a former governor who cannot distinguish between rent control and rent stabilization.”Nearly half of New York City’s apartments, about 960,000 units, are rent-stabilized, offering tenants protection against steep rent increases and the right to renew their leases, reports the Washington Times.Mamdani described Cuomo’s attack as evidence of his “petty vindictiveness” and shows that he lives in his mind “rent-free.”
