Adams, Cuomo trade jabs in interviews as Dems-turned-independents court anti-Mamdani vote

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Eric Adams took aim at each other in separate interviews, as each tries to position himself as the right choice for those who do not want their far-left opponent Zohran Mamdani to be the city's next mayor.

During a Saturday breakfast event in the Hamptons hosted by businessman and conservative radio host John Catsimatidis, Cuomo took a veiled shot at Adams by arguing that New York City hasn't had a "competent" mayor since Michael Bloomberg left office in 2013, the New York Post reported. 

Cuomo – who, like Adams, is running as an independent against Democratic nominee Mamdani and Republican Curtis Sliwa – added that the city currently "feels out of control."

Adams, meanwhile, was not shy about criticizing Cuomo while making his own case as the choice for moderates and conservatives who do not want the democratic socialist Mamdani.

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New York City mayor Eric Adams and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (Left: Photo by Andrea Renault/Star Max/GC Image, Right: Photo by Alex Kent/Getty Images)

"Andrew Cuomo is running from his record. Bail reform. I had to fix that. Cannabis Law. I had to fix that. Raise the Age [which ended automatically prosecuting 16- and 17-year-olds as adults]. I had to fix that," Adams said in a Thursday interview with the Post.

"You look at my record, and then you compare it to his record. I had to fix his mess. He created a mess for our city, and I got to fix it," the mayor added.

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NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani briefly speaks with reporters as he leaves the Dirksen Senate Office Building on July 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. (hoto by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Both men also took their fair share of shots at Mamdani, as well.

Cuomo warned that he would "move to Florida" if Mamdani is elected, although his campaign insisted to the Post that this was a joke. 

"Governor Cuomo would never give up on New York," Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi told the newspaper. "That said, the line underscored the stakes in the upcoming election and the risk of electing a dangerously inexperienced, hate-spewing 33-year-old socialist whose campaign consists of unrealistic bumper sticker slogans."

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo criticized both Mamdani and Eric Adams in statements this weekend. (Kent Nishimura)

"Look at [Mandani’s] policies: once you empty out Rikers Island, that’s a major impact," Adams told The New York Post, referencing Mamdani's plan to reduce the prison's population. "It’s going to go back to the communities that crime came from."

Adams, a former police officer, went on to criticize Mamdani's plan to have social workers respond to domestic violence calls rather than police.

Adams referenced NYPD Officer Wilbert Mora, 27, and his partner Jason Rivera, 22, who were shot and killed responding to a domestic violence call in 2022.

"Mora and Rivera, the two cops who were shot in the beginning of my [mayoral] career, they died and were assassinated responding to a domestic violence call," Adams said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Adams, Cuomo and Mamdani campaigns for comment, but they did not immediately respond.

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Mamdani secured the Democratic nomination last month, leaving voters who are not among the far left to choose between two Democrats-turned-independents in Adams and Cuomo, and the Republican Sliwa.