Leading Democratic mayoral hopefuls Zohran Mamdani and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo are battling to see who can fend off President Trump’s agenda better.
The two candidates unveiled their strategies on Tuesday aimed at safeguarding New York City from federal actions, following President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests against immigration enforcement this week.
Mamdani, gaining momentum as the Democratic socialist candidate, outlined his vision which includes allocating $224 million for legal defense, establishing abortion hubs, and additional measures as part of his “Trump-proof” sanctuary city initiative.
Addressing the need to stand against the Trump administration, Mamdani emphasized the necessity of achieving “fiscal independence” from federal resources. He announced that his proposed $10 billion tax hike would be instrumental in achieving this goal.
The Queens assemblyman previously said he would pay for his freebie-filled agenda with a flat 2% tax increase on New Yorkers making $1 million or more and by raising the corporate tax rate to match New Jersey’s 11.5% – a move that experts said could lead to a mass exodus from the Big Apple.
The campaign didn’t clarify how much of Mamdani’s tax plan was already accounted for, nor how much would be reserved to cover his Trump resistance proposal and any lost federal funding.
Cuomo, meanwhile, released his own plan to thwart any future federal crackdowns in New York City.
The proposal includes calls for legal monitors to ensure the NYPD complies with sanctuary laws, outfitting potential protests with first aid stations and coordinating with local groups to keep demonstrations peaceful.
Cuomo’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment about the estimated cost of his proposals.
“It is essential that we learn from the events unfolding in Los Angeles and prepare now, so New York City does not repeat the same mistakes,” the former governor said in a statement.
Mamdani, when announcing his own proposals, also took the opportunity to swipe at frontrunner Cuomo, saying that he would bend the knee to Trump on immigration.
“We need someone who’s going to fight against Donald Trump. Cuomo would welcome Trump’s troops into our city with open arms if it meant another check in his pocket to fund his campaign,” Mamdani said.
“What we are seeing in Los Angeles is something that we have to be clear eyed about. It is authoritarianism. It is an example of what the Trump administration is already doing across this country, and hopes to bring to cities from coast to coast,” he said.
Cuomo rep Rich Azzopardi shot back that the ex-gov has a “documented” past of bucking the Republican president.
“Only one candidate in this race has a documented history of standing up to Trump and preventing him from sending troops to New York and it sure isn’t the Silver Spoon socialist performance artist who only passed three bills during his time as a legislator and then stopped showing up to work,” he said.
