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NYC mayoral hopeful Cuomo says he’s moving to Florida if ‘communist lunatic’ wins

July 21, 2025 | | Print Article

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared he will relocate to Florida if socialist Zohran Mamdani wins the race for New York City mayor.

The disgraced former governor lost to Mamdani in last month’s Democratic primary and plans to run as an Independent in November’s general election. His remark, which drew laughs from business leaders at a breakfast meeting in the Hamptons on Saturday, even got the attention of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), but Cuomo’s campaign later clarified that it was a joke.

“It’s all or nothing. We either win, or even I will move to Florida. God forbid!” Cuomo addressed prominent figures at the event hosted by billionaire businessman and radio talk show host John Catsimatidis.

One attendee at the breakfast said, “It was a wow line,” according to the New York Post. “It got everyone’s attention.”

A spokesman for the mayoral candidate, Rich Azzopardi, said the comment was not serious.

“Governor Cuomo would never give up on New York,” Azzopardi said, according to the Post. “That said, the line underscored the stakes in the upcoming election and the risk of electing a dangerously inexperienced, hate-spewing 33-year-old socialist whose campaign consists of unrealistic bumper sticker slogans.”

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DeSantis responded to Cuomo’s remark on X, writing, “Don’t New York our Florida!”

Others on X agreed.

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New York City’s current mayor, Eric Adams, told the New York Post that if Cuomo “is serious about moving to Florida, he should go ahead – he’s already spent three [recent] weekends in the Hamptons.”

Adams, who is another Democrat seeking re-election as an Independent, was on Cuomo’s radar as well during the breakfast, as he told the crowd that New York City “feels out of control.”

Adams, for his part, told the New York Post in an interview last week that a win for Mamdani will spell doom for the Bog Apple.

“I’m a New Yorker,” he said. “I’m going to continue to stay here and fight for the city. The city’s worth fighting for.”

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However, Adams warned that if the socialist Mamdani gets to run the city, his planned soft-on-crime policies and far-left agenda will be disastrous for residents.

“Look at [Mandani’s] policies: once you empty out Rikers Island, that’s a major impact,” he told the Post, in a reference to New York City’s largest jail. “It’s going to go back to the communities that crime came from.”

Frieda Powers
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