Eric Adams endorses once bitter rival Andrew Cuomo in New York City's mayoral race

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NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams endorsed Andrew Cuomo in the city’s mayoral election Thursday, throwing his weight behind a bitter rival as he cast the Democratic nominee, Zohran Mamdani, as an avatar for radicals and gentrifiers.

“Am I angry I’m not the one taking down Zohran, the socialist and communist? You’re darn right I am,” Adams said, as he stood alongside a smiling Cuomo in Harlem. “We're fighting against a snake-oil salesman."

Adams had deemed Cuomo a “snake and a liar” before dropping his election campaign last month. “Brothers fight,” Adams said on Thursday. “But when families are attacked, brothers come together.”

The endorsement comes as Cuomo has lobbed increasingly caustic attacks on Mamdani, equating his criticism of Israel with antisemitism and warning of a city beset by crime, hatred and disorder if his opponent wins.

Adams, in his endorsement, went a step further.

“New York can’t be Europe, folks,” Adams said. “I don’t know what is wrong with people. You see what’s playing out in other countries because of Islamic extremism,” he continued, citing examples of recent terror attacks in Europe and Africa.

The mayor did not elaborate on what those Islamic terror attacks had to do with Mamdani, who would be the city's first Muslim mayor.

Cuomo then thanked Adams for his comments, describing him as a “real Democrat and a real New Yorker.”

It’s not immediately clear if Adams’ endorsement would help Cuomo in the city’s November election. Adams has seen his political capital crumble under the weight of a federal corruption case that was ultimately dismissed following an extraordinary intervention from the Trump administration.

Cuomo's own political image was tarnished following a sexual harassment scandal, which forced him to resign as governor in 2021. He has denied the allegations.

Cuomo, a centrist, has cast himself as the only candidate who can beat Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist and state assemblymember who shocked the political establishment by soundly defeating the former governor in the June primary.

In a statement Thursday, Mamdani said “Andrew Cuomo is running for Eric Adams’ second term.”

“It’s no surprise to see two men who share an affinity for corruption and Trump capitulation align themselves at the behest of the billionaire class and the president himself,” Mamdani said.

Cuomo’s path to victory rests on his ability to win over moderates and Republicans, but in recent days he has admitted that it is becoming “harder mathematically” for him as long as Republican Curtis Sliwa remains in the race.

Sliwa, the colorful founder of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group, has steadfastly refused calls to drop out from both Cuomo and his supporters.

The endorsement would mark a reconciliation between the two longtime New York politicians, each of whom had escalated attacks against the other before Adams ended his campaign.

Shortly before dropping out, Adams accused Cuomo making “a career of pushing Black candidates out of races,” referring to the former governor’s past state races.

Cuomo, meanwhile, has described Adams’ management of the city as a “never-ending series of government corruption.”

On Wednesday night, immediately after the final mayoral debate, the former governor and mayor were photographed sitting courtside at Madison Square Garden, fueling speculation of an incoming endorsement.

___ Izaguirre reported from Albany, New York.