NYC Mayor Eric Adams, who called Cuomo 'a snake and a liar,' endorses him

Mayor Eric Adams, seeking to halt front-runner Zohran Mamdani's likely victory in the race to replace him, on Thursday endorsed onetime rival Andrew M. Cuomo, a stunning turnaround to back a man he last month called "a snake and a liar."

Two days before early voting begins Saturday, Adams and Cuomo embraced outside a Manhattan housing project and promised to spend the race's waning days out appealing to voters. 

"We’re fighting against a snake-oil salesman who has sold us a bill of goods," said Adams, who withdrew from the race last month after claiming for months he was the best candidate to beat Mamdani.

Every recent public opinion poll has predicted that Mamdani will win. Adams, 65, called Mamdani, 34 and a naturalized U.S. citizen who moved to New York City at age 7, "the king of the gentrifiers." 

Cuomo praised Adams for having "put his own personal ambition, and ego, aside." Both men say they disagree with Mamdani's democratic socialism and his left-leaning positions on policing, jails and taxation, as well as his criticisms of Christopher Columbus and Israel.

"We all have to do our best to make sure that Zohran does not become the next mayor," said Cuomo, who is running on a third-party line. 

Adams, who just weeks ago accused Cuomo of a long history of destroying the careers of Black politicians and has spent months insulting Cuomo’s governorship, explained all the criticism this way: "Brothers fight."

"But when families are attacked," Adams said, "brothers come together. They understand that you have to protect the family."

Election Day is Nov. 4.

Mamdani said the endorsement is no surprise.

"Today confirms what we’ve long known: Andrew Cuomo is running for Eric Adams’ second term," Mamdani said in a statement. "We are going to turn the page on the politics of big money and small ideas that these two disgraced executives embody and build a city every New Yorker can afford."

Adams, a Democrat elected in 2021 whose tenure was beset with scandal, dropped out last month after concluding he was unlikely to win.

On Wednesday night, less than a half hour after the conclusion of the race's final debate, Adams and Cuomo were photographed sitting and smiling together at a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden. Adams wore a Knicks cap to Thursday's endorsement. 

Incumbent mayors rarely fail to get second terms in New York City, and Adams was expected to win reelection — until last year, when leaks about FBI raids and federal investigations into him and his circle began. He was then indicted on corruption charges related to campaign finance fraud and municipal favoritism; the case was later ordered dropped by President Donald Trump's Justice Department. A federal judge criticized the move.

Cuomo seized the vacuum left by Adams' resulting unpopularity and in March announced he'd run for mayor. For months Cuomo was expected to win — polling ahead of every challenger, supported by millions of dollars from billionaires — until Mamdani shocked the political establishment by beating Cuomo in the Democratic primary.

Asked Thursday whether he had offered anything to Adams for the endorsement, Cuomo said only love.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.