Mayor Eric Adams has officially endorsed Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s mayoral race.

The mayor threw his support behind the former governor at a joint news conference in Harlem Thursday afternoon.

What You Need To Know

Mayor Eric Adams endorsed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s mayoral race on Thursday

The endorsement came just two days before early voting begins and less than a day after the two were seen together at Madison Square Garden during the New York Knicks’ home opener, following the final mayoral debate on NY1

The endorsement marks a striking reversal in Adams’ tone toward Cuomo

Adams exited the race late last month after polls showed him trailing both Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani by double digits

“Am I angry that I’m not the one taking down Zohran, the socialist and the communist? You’re darn right I am,” Adams said. “But you know what, the city means more to me than anything, and it is time for us as a family to come together.”

“I’m fighting for the family of New York,” he added. “That’s why I’m here today to endorse Andrew Cuomo to be part of this fight.”

Cuomo, meanwhile, thanked Adams for his support. 

“The mayor put his own ambition aside because he cares more about New York City, and he believes Zohran is an existential threat to New York City,” he said.

The endorsement came just two days before early voting begins and less than a day after the two were seen together at Madison Square Garden during the New York Knicks’ home opener, following the final mayoral debate on NY1.

Adams had said last week that he was “in conversation” with Cuomo about a potential endorsement. He ended his reelection bid late last month, leaving Cuomo, Democrat Zohran Mamdani and Republican Curtis Sliwa as the leading candidates.

The endorsement marks a striking reversal in Adams’ tone toward Cuomo. In early September, Adams called the former governor “a snake and a liar” while addressing rumors that he himself might drop out of the mayoral race to join the Trump administration.

Adams ultimately exited the race weeks later after polls showed him trailing both Cuomo and Mamdani by double digits.

At Thursday’s news conference, Adams said he and Cuomo were “two kids from New York.”

“And when you think about it, Andrew is [a] brother, and I had three of them, and brothers fight,” he said. “But when families are attacked, brothers come together.”

Cuomo, who served as governor of New York before resigning in 2021 amid sexual misconduct allegations, lost the Democratic primary to Mamdani and has consistently polled second heading into the general election.

In response to the news Thursday, Mamdani issued a statement that cast the endorsement as a symbol of political continuity rather than change.

“Today confirms what we’ve long known: Andrew Cuomo is running for Eric Adams’ second term,” he said. “It’s no surprise to see two men who share an affinity for corruption and Trump capitulation align themselves at the behest of the billionaire class and the President himself. We are going to turn the page on the politics of big money and small ideas that these two disgraced executives embody and build a city every New Yorker can afford.”

At his own press conference Thursday, Sliwa said of the endorsement: “Corrupt birds of a feather fly together.”