As the New York City mayoral race comes to a head, the dwindling group of undecided voters is being influenced by a mix of moral debates and identity politics. This is the kind of battleground where Zohran Mamdani, a surprising victor in the Democratic primary, finds his strength. Meanwhile, Andrew Cuomo, the former Democratic governor now running as an independent, faces challenges in this arena, particularly when perceived as lenient toward the city’s perennial adversary, President Trump.

Central to Mamdani’s campaign is a firm opposition to Trump, a stance he has consistently highlighted. In contrast, Cuomo has not made Trump a focus of his campaign, despite having criticized the president in his previous role as governor. This approach seems puzzling, especially when considering Cuomo’s history of opposing Trump and the fact that many voters believe the next mayor should stand firmly against the president on issues like immigration and federal funding threats.

Cuomo has described himself as the “last person” Trump would want as mayor, not due to his own actions, but because he believes a Mamdani-led administration would be a political advantage for Trump. Cuomo distances his campaign from Trump, even downplaying a reported private conversation with the president, asserting it did not pertain to the mayoral election.

At a mayoral forum held last week by Crain’s magazine, Mamdani invoked Trump twice — both times to rally the room against the president’s threats to choke off federal aid to the city. He told the business audience that the first job of the next mayor is to “interrogate the legality” of any Trump edict and then “fight.” Cuomo, in contrast, mentioned Trump only once, and only in passing while referencing the pandemic.

Cuomo’s reluctance to directly confront Trump was evident when he missed a crucial moment to demonstrate resilience. This occurred when New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted on charges of fraud and false statements by a prosecutor appointed by Trump. While Mamdani actively protested alongside other Democrats in lower Manhattan, Cuomo merely released a statement cautioning against the politicization of the justice system “whether it comes from the right or the left,” without specifically addressing James or Trump. This response contrasts sharply with the Cuomo who, in 2020, famously told Trump, “We don’t have a king,” and threatened legal action against Washington over funding disputes.

It’s worth noting that James had previously led investigations into sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo during his tenure as governor, a factor that may have influenced his current political strategies.

Mamdani, though lacking Cuomo’s anti-Trump gubernatorial record, has made up for it with rhetoric that energizes liberal New Yorkers. Last week, Trump mused on Truth Social that a Mamdani win would end federal aid to New York. He charged, “He needs the money from me, as president, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it.” 

Mamdani wasted no time responding. “What this city deserves is someone who will fight for it,” he said, calling Trump a president who “looks at this city as something to be punished every day.” He’s capitalized on Cuomo’s lack of clarity on Trump. On CNN he added that “Donald Trump is clearing the way for Andrew Cuomo, because Donald Trump knows that Cuomo will clear the way for Trump’s agenda.” 

Speaking to the New Yorker, Mamdani said, “And I think we’ve seen in his first term and his second term that what Donald Trump most often respects is strength. It is not cowardice. It’s not collaboration like we saw from [Mayor Eric Adams], or coordination like we’re seeing from Cuomo. It’s someone who’s willing to stand up and fight back.”

Earlier this year, when reports emerged that Trump had encouraged Adams to drop out, Mamdani was quick to accuse Andrew Cuomo of being, “as long suspected,” Trump’s preferred candidate. When it was later reported that Trump might back Cuomo, Mamdani declared during a five-borough tour that his administration would be “Trump’s worst nightmare.” He asked, “How else can you describe a president who has proposed denaturalizing the Democratic nominee of New York City?”

His campaign says that internal polling shows that framing Trump as an abuser of power resonates with voters in New York, where Trump is largely reviled, even if he is a son of the city.

There is still time for Cuomo to reconsider his approach; the election is Nov. 4. Polls show that most undecided voters say “strength against Trump” is a decisive factor in their choice. On that question, Cuomo trails Mamdani, but by only one point, perhaps because many New Yorkers remember his record as governor.

He would do well to harness the anti-Trump energy or give voters a compelling reason to believe he would be a wartime mayor. If he doesn’t, then whatever future he imagines in politics will be decided here. Win or lose, this is the moment to remind a distrustful, mobilized and decisively anti-Trump electorate of some of the better parts of who he was and could still be.

William Liang is a writer living in San Francisco.