New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani stated that President Trump’s financial backers “will not dictate” the race, just hours after the current Mayor Eric Adams decided to exit his reelection efforts.

Mamdani shared on MSNBC Sunday evening, “Donald Trump and his billionaire donors may be able to control the actions of Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo, but they will not dictate the outcome of this election. This is still the same election we embarked upon on October 23rd [2024].”

Mayor Adams withdrew from the race on Sunday, just over three weeks after affirming his commitment to remain. Running as an independent since April, he reportedly had discussions with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff earlier in the month about a possible administrative role.

Republican mayoral contender Curtis Sliwa mentioned last week that he had received financial propositions from affluent New Yorkers encouraging him to withdraw. It remains unspecified if these individuals, unnamed by Sliwa, are donors linked to Trump.

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is pursuing an independent mayoral campaign, refuted claims of speaking with Trump following a New York Times article alleging a phone conversation between them. Mamdani, who defeated Cuomo along with other aspirants to secure the Democratic nomination over the summer, criticized Trump’s reported attempts to reduce the contest to two leading candidates.

During his appearance on MSNBC, Mamdani stated, “Donald Trump has repeatedly indicated his desire to narrow this race, leveraging every means he has to halt the campaign for affordability. We are witnessing, yet again, a moment where Trump seeks to influence this race.”

“But we’re going to show him that New Yorkers are tired of his politics and they’re tired of being priced out of the city.”

Mamdani’s comments echo those in a video he posted to social platform X shortly after Adams dropped out of the race. In the video, Mamdani criticized the mayor’s record and issued a warning to Cuomo. 

“To Andrew Cuomo. You got your wish. You wanted Trump and your billionaire friends to help you clear the field. But don’t forget. You wanted me as your opponent in the primary too, and we beat you by 13 points.”

In a poll released last week by Suffolk University City View, 45 percent of respondents backed Mamdani. Cuomo, Sliwa and Adams garnered support from 25 percent, 9 percent and 8 percent of respondents, respectively.