New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani fundraised off a new campaign video from former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as the two are set to battle in the general election later this year.
“Only 13 percent of New Yorkers voted in the June primary. The general election is in November, and I am in it to win it. My opponent, Mr. Mamdani, offers slick slogans, but no real solutions,” Cuomo said in a campaign video, which was posted Monday on the social platform X.
In response to the earlier campaign video Cuomo posted on X, Mamdani posted a link to donate money to his campaign. Mamdani’s response had earned 95,000 likes by later Monday night, with Cuomo’s original video at 2,900 likes.
Mamdani’s recent win in the Democratic primary shocked the political world, with a mostly previously unknown democratic socialist taking down Cuomo, a notable political heavyweight.
Cuomo has formally announced he is running as an independent in the Big Apple’s mayoral race later this year.
Cuomo joins Mamdani, Mayor Eric Adams, who is also running as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in the general election race.
Former Obama staffer Dan Pfeiffer, also a co-host of the “Pod Save America” podcast, slammed Cuomo’s Monday ad by saying there was “no charisma” in it.
“This is one of the least compelling campaign videos that I have ever seen. No message. No charisma. No compelling visuals,” Pfeiffer said in a post on X in response to the Cuomo video.
“Just a visibly annoyed man wearing an ill-fitting shirt saying things he clearly doesn’t believe,” he added.
When reached for comment about Pfeiffer’s remarks earlier Monday, Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi told The Hill that “If we upset the pod guys, we must be on the right track.”
The Hill has reached out to a spokesperson for Cuomo for further comment on Mamdani’s post.
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