Trump sets deadline to thin field in crowded NYC mayoral race: ‘He’s going to do whatever he has to do’
Tick tock.
President Trump told a prominent New Yorker he wants long-shot mayoral hopefuls to bow out of the crowded field — by next week — in an attempt to stave off a socialist-run City Hall, The Post has learned.
Trump on Sunday rang up billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis, who has longtime ties to both Mayor Eric Adams and GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa, and voiced his dismay about what might happen to the Big Apple if Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic front-runner and proud socialist, wins in November.
“He is concerned about the New York City race. He does not want a socialist mayor, and he said, ’It’s not going to happen’ under his watch and wants a person under his watch,” Catsimatidis told The Post.
Trump, in a historic interjection by a president in a New York City mayoral race, said he wanted the field to be winnowed down in the next 10 days.
“At the end of the next 10 days, he wants the most qualified candidate to beat Mamdani,” Catsimatidis said.
Pressed on what the president said he would do at the deadline next Wednesday, the self-made mogul would only say, “He’s going to do whatever he has to do.”
Sources with knowledge of Trump’s thoughts on the race said the president is looking for ways to get Sliwa and Adams to step aside in favor of ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The political maneuver was not based on Trump’s affection for Cuomo, but rather the series of polls since the primary that still have the former governor holding steady in second, followed by Sliwa in third and Adams a distant fourth.
The president and others in the party believe the ex-gov could make the best run at the socialist candidate, with polling showing Mamdani’s approval stalling and historically high negatives for a Democratic nominee, sources said.
Either candidate dropping out would give a boost to Cuomo, the sources added.
News of the phone call, details of which haven’t been previously disclosed, comes just a day after it emerged that top White House officials have been trying to find a gig for the beleaguered incumbent mayor, in a bid to convince him to drop his independent re-election run.
Hizzoner has repeatedly vowed to stay in the race — with insiders telling The Post that his contempt of Cuomo for swooping into the mayoral election seemingly trumps his disdain at the idea of a Mamdani-run city.
“While other candidates have quit their jobs, Mayor Adams hasn’t walked away from his responsibilities,” said Adams campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro. “He is running for re-election not because he needs another position, but because he believes deeply in the future of this city and has a proven record of getting things done.”
Sliwa — again on Thursday — slapped down the notion that he should bow out of the race.
“I am the only major-party candidate on the ballot besides Mamdani, and I am not dropping out because I will save this city,” he said.