Donald Trump: I get along with Cuomo “very well, very well”

ALBANY — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Thursday that he gets along “very well, very well” with New York Democratic Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and that he would “play New York very heavy” despite polls that show Democrat Hillary Clinton with a huge lead in the state.

Trump, in an interview on WDGJ-AM, an Albany radio station, insisted he has a chance to win New York, where a Siena College poll shows Clinton with a 30-point lead.

“Traditionally, the Republican wouldn’t even come to New York to have dinner. I’m going to play New York very heavy,” Trump told New York Post columnist Fred Dicker. “Look, this is my place … I’m going to play New York very hard and maybe something could happen.”

Trump, who has said previously he could compete here, mentioned he had “Nassau Joe and Jay” — presumably references to Nassau Republican Chairman Joseph Mondello and Suffolk GOP Chairman John Jay LaValle — working hard for him.

Trump didn’t bite when the host said that some political observers think Cuomo may want Clinton to lose this year so he can run for the Democratic nomination in 2020. But Trump said he talked to the governor at the recent Sept. 11 memorial ceremony.

“We had a long talk. We were actually talking to each other a long while,” Trump said. Asked about the subject matter, the candidate said “the weather.” Then he added: “We get along very well, very well.”

Other media outlets have noted that Cuomo, a Clinton backer, has limited his criticism about Trump.