Andrew Cuomo refuses to condemn President Trump over Letitia James indictment

“Condemn him for what?” said the New York City mayoral candidate when pressed on whether Trump was right to target New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Former New York Governor and New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo refused to condemn President Donald Trump after his Justice Department indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James.

When asked by Pix 11 reporter Dan Mannarino whether Trump should have “gone after” James, Cuomo responded, “Both sides, Democrats and Republicans believe there’s too much politics in the justice system.”

Cuomo, who is running for mayor as an Independent, made the same remark in a previous statement reacting to the Oct. 9 indictment, which was condemned by his opponent Democratic nominee for mayor, Zohran Mamdani, for not mentioning Trump or James by name.

Pressed to say whether he thought Trump was “right” to target James, Cuomo said, “He will say he didn’t go after her. The prosecutor will say they were just doing justice, which is what Tish James said about going after President Trump…That’s why it’s political.”

Attorney General James, who is charged with mortgage fraud and maintains her innocence, endorsed Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race. The state’s top prosecutor will rally for the Democratic nominee at a Monday evening rally. Mamdani currently leads Cuomo by double digits ahead of the Nov. 4 general election.

Mannarino noted that Mamdani called out Cuomo for not being willing to condemn Trump’s very public demand for Letitia James, a longtime political foe who prosecuted him in a business fraud case last year, to be charged.

“If you won’t condemn the president here in this situation, how can a New Yorker believe you’ll actually stand up to him?” the reporter asked.

“Condemn him for what?” said Cuomo.

Mamdani, whose grassroots campaign is calling for billionaires to pay higher taxes in order to fund more affordable services like housing, called out Cuomo yet again in a post resharing his Pix 11 interview.

“Andrew Cuomo is incapable of speaking clearly and directly about Trump’s authoritarianism,” he wrote.

Attorney General Letitia James notably played a major role in Cuomo’s resigning from office as New York governor in 2021. James launched an investigation of sexual harassment allegations made against Cuomo by former staffers.

A 168-page report concluding the findings of James’ probe determined that Cuomo created a “culture of fear, intimidation, and retribution” and a governor’s office that “accepted and normalized everyday flirtations and gender-based comments” by him.

James concluded that Cuomo sexually harassed several state employees through “unwelcome and unwanted touching” and “offensive and sexually suggestive comments.”

Cuomo, who denied all allegations of sexual harassment, resigned a week later.

Andrew Cuomo is incapable of speaking clearly and directly about Trump’s authoritarianism. pic.twitter.com/qKVErdJIhC— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) October 12, 2025