Since launching his mayoral campaign this month, Andrew Cuomo has largely refrained from the sharp criticism of President Trump that has marked the rhetoric of many of his opponents, and some Trump supporters are opening up their wallets for the former governor.
Cuomo’s nascent mayoral campaign has already received nearly $20,000 in contributions from Trump donors and associates, including a prominent conservative social media influencer who recently helped host a fundraiser for the former governor, according to a Daily News review of city and federal filings.
The “Women for Cuomo” fundraiser on March 7 was co-hosted by Tanya Zuckerbrot, a nutritionist with a large social media following who has been a vocal Trump surrogate and attended the president’s inaugural ball in January.
Donation records show Zuckerbrot gave $2,100, the legal max, to Cuomo’s mayoral campaign in conjunction with the event in Manhattan.
“I appreciate his strong support of the Jewish community and commitment to making NYC great again. Who’s ready for a comeback?” Zuckerbrot captioned a photo she posted on Instagram on March 10 of herself and Cuomo. She capped off the post with the hashtag #makenycgreatagain, a spin on Trump’s signature slogan.
In his first two weeks of fundraising, Cuomo also raked in maxed-out $2,100 donations from Randy Levine, president of the New York Yankees who’s known to have been on Trump’s “close contacts” list, Jonathan Kushner, cousin of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, and several others with records of financially backing the Republican president’s campaigns, records show.
That includes max donations to Cuomo from Geoffrey Berman, Trump’s ex-Manhattan U.S. attorney who pumped $5,400 into the president’s 2016 campaign, and four other New Yorkers, including an attorney and an investor, who have between them given more than $40,000 to Trump’s campaigns.
Another maxed-out Cuomo mayoral campaign donor is Anthony Scaramucci, a onetime Trump adviser who has since become an outspoken critic of the president. Before turning on Trump, Scaramucci funneled more than $150,000 into Trump’s campaign and super PACs, according to disclosures.
In total, Cuomo, who’s polling as the favorite to win June’s Democratic mayoral primary, raised more than $1.5 million during the first two weeks of his campaign and is, according to most polls, the frontrunner for the Democratic nod.
Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi noted that, like Scaramucci, Berman has since being fired by Trump in 2020 become critical of the president. Azzopardi also noted several of the donors highlighted by The News’ review have records of donating to Cuomo and other Democrats before Trump’s 2016 election, including Zuckerbrot, who gave $250 to the then-governor’s reelection campaign in 2014.
“Past is prologue, only one candidate in this race has a record of standing up for New York when Trump and Washington sought to hurt it and it’s Andrew Cuomo,” Azzopardi said, referencing Cuomo’s record as an anti-Trump champion during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ex-gov has since his March 1 campaign launch by and large stayed clear of criticizing the controversial president as pointedly as most elected New York Democrats.
In a March 3 interview on Stephen A. Smith’s YouTube show, Cuomo suggested Trump — who has threatened to strip New York of billions of dollars in federal funding for various critical programs — wants to help the city.
“Donald Trump is from New York City and he knows our problems here,” Cuomo said in the appearance. “He knows we need federal help … He knows our situation, he knows the situation in New York City. It is his hometown. I think that he wants New York City to appreciate him. I think he thinks there’s an opportunity for him to do good things.”
Speaking at a Harlem church a few days later, Cuomo again didn’t directly criticize Trump, but did say his presidency could result in “challenges” for the city.
The incumbent, Mayor Adams, has vowed to not publicly criticize the president. Adams, who’s trailing Cuomo by double digits in most polls of the mayoral race, has come under fire since the Trump Justice Department moved to drop his federal corruption indictment in a manner that critics and allies say has left the mayor behold to Trump’s political agenda. Adams maintains there is no quid pro quo.
Some of Cuomo’s opponents in the mayoral race have lambasted his lack of forceful Trump pushback.
One mayoral candidate, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, held a press conference outside City Hall on Thursday where he questioned whether Cuomo’s keeping his powder dry on blasting Trump because House Republicans recently urged the president’s Department of Justice to prosecute the ex-governor over matters related to his handling of COVID.
“Either Cuomo should vocally condemn the president, or explain his refusal to do so — New Yorkers deserve to know where he stands,” Myrie said.