NYC Mayor Adams to endorse Cuomo in mayoral race, cites Mamdani not fully disavowing ‘globalize the intifada’

Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams is endorsing Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York state, in the race to succeed him in City Hall, multiple outlets report.

Cuomo, a centrist running as an independent, is currently trailing frontrunner Zohran Mamdani as the November 4 election approaches. Mamdani, a far-left state assemblyman, is a harsh critic of Israel. In an interview with The New York Times, Adams cites, among other issues, Mamdani’s refusal to fully disavow the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which many Jews view as a call for antisemitic violence.

Adams says Mamdani would be a mayor who “wants to divide the city on taxes based on ethnicity and run out high-income earners, that mayor that won’t denounce globalize the intifada.”

Mamdani has said he would discourage the phrase’s use and that he will fight antisemitism as mayor. But his staunch opposition to Israel has been a central issue of the campaign. He has declined to say Israel should exist as a Jewish state, accused it of “genocide” three times in a recent debate, and has said he would arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu based on an International Criminal Court arrest warrant if he came to the city, though it’s unclear if he can legally do so.

Adams posts a photo of himself and Cuomo together at a New York Knicks basketball game.

Great win for the Knicks. We need to win for the city. Can’t go backwards. pic.twitter.com/U8iOv6EiMQ

— Eric Adams (@ericadamsfornyc) October 23, 2025

Adams, who, like Cuomo, is a vocal supporter of Israel, dropped out of the race after running a distant fourth. Polls indicated that much of his support went to Cuomo, so it’s unclear how much impact his endorsement will have on Mamdani’s comfortable lead in the polls over Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.