Andrew Cuomo on his approach to President Trump, e-bikes and more in the NYC mayor's race
Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor now running for mayor of New York City, has a long resume of public service and accomplishments, which he hopes will outweigh the scandals that ended his governorship in Tuesday's Democratic primary.
Polling says Cuomo is the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination and that Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is his greatest threat in the party's crowded field of candidates, as early voting comes to a close.
Even if the primary doesn't go his way, Cuomo says he will stay in the mayor's race as an independent.
"Traumatic" COVID briefings
Cuomo reentered the political fray after resigning as the Empire State governor in 2021 amid scandals involving sexual harassment and COVID deaths in nursing homes, which he is also accused of lying to Congress about.
He has denied the allegations and defended his administration's handling of the pandemic.
Appearing Sunday on CBS News New York's "The Point with Marcia Kramer, Cuomo said his daily coronavirus briefings, which often went viral, marked a "traumatic" time for him as governor.
"I don't know that I've even fully recovered from that period of time. It was so frightening, it was so traumatic," he said.
"I'd sit in these briefings and they would say millions are going to die," he added.
Cuomo's actions as governor have been a focal point of his Democratic opponents' campaigns too. The candidates jumped at opportunities to challenge his record in the first and second debates.
Relationship with President Trump
Cuomo believes his past relationship with President Trump would benefit New Yorkers, but says the president must first be willing to help them.
"I've dealt with President Trump. I think he has a respect for me and for New York. I think that's important. I don't think he wants to pick a fight that he can't handle, and he knows when he fights with New York, it gets very difficult very quickly," he said.
"First order of business is do no harm, and I'm afraid of what he's going to do with the budget. I'm afraid of what he's going to do with immigrants because that is working for him politically," he added. "And by the way, it's the only thing that's working for him politically."
As governor during Mr. Trump's first term, Cuomo said he and the president had disagreements, but also found common ground.
"We had a number of fights during COVID, etc. On the flip side, there were situations where I went to him and I asked for help," he said. "I asked for help to rebuild the train tunnels going across the Hudson River, etc. I think there are infrastructure projects that he could help with, if he was interested."
E-bike regulations and safety
E-bike safety has become one of the key issues in the mayoral campaign, amid some calls for new speed limits and to require licenses.
Cuomo's campaign has leaned into his experience as governor from 2011-2021 and President Clinton's second housing and urban development secretary. One thing he did not do as governor, but would like to as mayor, is regulate e-bikes in the city, he said.
"If I had to do it all over again, Monday morning quarterback, we passed it on the state level, we left it up to the localities to regulate," he said. "New York City has not effectively regulated the e-bikes. Surprise, surprise."
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running for reelection as an independent, has proposed a on e-bikes and e-scooters.
"The deliveristas, first of all, are the people who are trying to make a living. They have to be protected and their rights have to be protected. But these apps are making billions of dollars, and I want to make the apps responsible for licensing the bikes so there can be law enforcement," Cuomo added. "Let the app be responsible for the tickets and then if there's a bike, an operator, that has a high number of tickets and violations, that is on the app."
Mamdani has also proposed regulating delivery apps and holding them accountable for treating workers fairly, as well as measures to improve safety for bike riders.
Cuomo said whatever new rules come to be, they won't matter unless they're enforced.
"The poor people on Citi Bikes, those Citi Bikes can only go about 18 mph. They have e-bikes that are doing 30-35 mph going past them. So we need rules enforced. You can't be on the sidewalk and on the street and going against traffic," he said.
New York's primary election is Tuesday, June 24.
