Speculation has reached a fever pitch over the past week that President Trump’s allies are seeking to clear the field in the New York City mayoral race for Andrew Cuomo, raising questions about why the president’s orbit might side with a longtime foe.

The New York Times reported Friday that Trump adviser Steve Witkoff met with Adams in Florida to discuss his future this week during a trip that Adams’s spokesperson indicated was just to celebrate his birthday. Adams announced later that day that he would stay in the race.

Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, who has been the subject of speculation that he might receive a job so he’ll drop out, has been even more consistent that he’s not interested in working for the White House and is staying in the race.

But the reports nonetheless have put a spotlight on Trump allies’ apparent efforts to coalesce support around Cuomo as he tries to defeat progressive candidate Zohran Mamdani in November.

“It seems to be what's swimming out here is, in terms of Trump world's decision making, is that Donald Trump views stopping Mamdani as what's in his eyes is best for New York,” said Democratic strategist Trip Yang. “So this is a very unusual intervention by a sitting president in a mayoral race.”

The Trump team’s apparent intervention in the New York City race could at first glance be seen as a surprise. Some Republicans see a clear upside to Mamdani winning in November, as his growing profile and progressive platform make him an easy boogeyman ahead of the midterms. Indeed, the GOP has been eager to tie Democrats to Mamdani since the progressive candidate stunned the country by defeating Cuomo in........

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