New York City Mayor Eric Adams will endorse disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to be the city’s next mayor, The New York Times reported Thursday.
Adams’ endorsement comes as a shock, given the pair’s venom-filled exchanges prior to Adams dropping his reelection campaign.
Cuomo is running on the independent ballot after losing the Democratic nomination to Zohran Mamdani, who is the clear front-runner.
Speaking to the the Times, Adams said he would campaign alongside Cuomo in neighborhoods where the mayor remains popular, arguing it is “imperative to really wake up the Black and brown communities that have suffered from gentrification on how important this race is.”
Todd Shapiro, a spokesperson for Adams, confirmed the endorsement to CNN and said that details of their joint appearances are being finalized.
The endorsement comes after the pair sat together courtside at a New York Knicks game Wednesday.
It was a sign they had patched up their differences after Cuomo pressured Adams to quit the race.
“Andrew Cuomo is a snake and a liar,” Adams said last month (see video below) when insisting he was the only one who could beat Mamdani.
It’s unclear whether Adams’ support will move the needle at all for Cuomo, who trails Mamdani by double digits.
Adams’ approval rating dropped to an all-time low of 20% after being hit with federal corruption charges that were later tossed by the Trump administration.
Mamdani, a state assemblyman and democratic socialist, tore into Cuomo during the latest mayoral debate Wednesday, confronting the former governor over allegations of sexual harassment.
Cuomo has long denied the sexual harassment allegations after independent investigators appointed by New York Attorney General Letitia James in 2021 found that he had sexually harassed multiple women who were current and former state employees.
He quit his role as governor following that report.
During the debate, Cuomo said he was seeking and would welcome Adams’ endorsement.
Mamdani and the Republican nominee, Curtis Sliwa, both said they would reject Adams’ backing if it was offered.