The former governor announced at a press conference on Wednesday that he would attend his Oct. 31 campaign event dressed as a predator. While intended to project how he would be tough on crime and confrontational with President Trump, the decision may have already backfired. Andrew Cuomo resigned as New York’s governor in 2021 amidst the first few of what have since grown to 13 allegations of sexual harassment. Within hours of the costume announcement, Cuomo tweeted that because of the backlash, he may instead go as his childhood icon Bill Cosby.
The press conference took place with less than a week to go until Election Day. Previously unknown Zohran Mamdani is the strong favorite and projected to win by double digits. Cuomo has been criticized for running a campaign that is both behind the times and uninspiring. Despite this, the former governor voiced optimism. “We have completely reorganized our social media presence over the past week, which was the biggest reason we trailed Madalshami,” he said, handing out pamphlets with a QR code linking to his campaign’s recently created MySpace.
In addition to his past allegations, Cuomo has faced criticism over his approach to housing affordability. Sharing a solution to address both of these issues, he declared, “I want to apologize for my past wrongs. If I win, in order to regain the trust of the public, I will keep the door of the mayor’s mansion open to any woman in the city who doesn’t have a place to sleep.”
In July, it was reported that Cuomo’s housing plan was created by ChatGPT. The former governor has continued to use AI over the past month to create campaign advertisements. When asked if he had any regrets, he said there was only one. “If we had bought ChatGPT premium earlier in the campaign, things would have gone drastically differently,” he stated. “Everything — from my speeches to my social media points — would have been superior.”
The New York City mayoral race has been rampant with controversy. Last year, incumbent Eric Adams was charged for accepting bribes from Turkey. He suspended his reelection campaign amidst poor polling and the emergence of yet another scandal, where one of his advisors handed a bag of potato chips full of cash to a reporter. Cuomo, meanwhile, has reportedly regularly been taking calls with President Trump. He dismissed those rumors today: “I’m ready to go after Trump as if he were the resident of a nursing home.”
Mamdani’s challengers have made his stance on the Middle East a center point of their attacks. The staunchly pro-Israel Cuomo offered in 2022 to serve on the legal team of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. When asked if he stood by those actions considering the International Criminal Court’s warrant for his arrest, he said he can look past that. “I believe everyone deserves up to 13 get-out-of-jail-free cards.” He then pivoted to attack Mamdani. “Do you think Katz’s Deli has a right to exist?”
Sliwa made similar claims regarding his feelings towards Israel during a press conference of his own. When asked what first action he would take if elected, he answered without hesitation. “I will send the Guardian Angels to Gaza to defeat Hamas,” he said. Then questioned if he supported Mamdani’s proposed rent freeze, he answered with disgust: “Climate change is not real.”
One of Cuomo’s most remembered moments came during a 2017 press conference when, trying to appear progressive, he stated, “I am black, I am gay, I am disabled, I am a woman.” Now catering to conservative New Yorkers, he ended with a slogan similar in nature: “I am Donald Trump. I am Benjamin Netanyahu. I am Bill Cosby.”