Mayoral frontrunner Andrew Cuomo went on the offensive Wednesday following news that he’s under criminal investigation by President Trump’s Department of Justice, rolling out a campaign ad blasting the probe as a nakedly political effort to disrupt his momentum in the race.
The 33-second spot kicks off with a narrator recounting how Trump’s administration has recently used federal law enforcement to target elected Democrats across the U.S. — including New York Attorney General Letitia James, a longtime political nemesis to both Cuomo and Trump who’s facing a criminal DOJ probe, too.
“Now, they’re attacking Andrew Cuomo to interfere with New York City’s election. Why? Because Andrew Cuomo is the last person they want as mayor,” the ad narrator says as dramatic music plays in the background.
“If Donald Trump doesn’t want Andrew Cuomo as mayor, you do,” the narrator concludes.
‘If Donald Trump doesn’t want Andrew Cuomo as Mayor, you do.’ See the latest ad from @andrewcuomo below. pic.twitter.com/lopBmMbxNn
— Rich Azzopardi (@RichAzzopardi) May 21, 2025
A spokesman for Cuomo, who’s polling as the favorite to win next month’s Democratic mayoral primary, said the ad is now only airing on digital platforms, but added, “stay tuned,” when asked whether it’ll appear on television as well. The spokesman declined to say how much the campaign spent on the ad.
The ad comes just hours after news broke late Tuesday that Trump’s DOJ about a month ago launched a criminal investigation into allegations that Cuomo lied before Congress last year while testifying about his controversial decision to as governor in 2020 force New York nursing homes to admit residents diagnosed with COVID. The policy’s believed to have resulted in thousands of deaths.
The probe was launched in response to a criminal referral from House Republicans that President Biden’s Department of Justice previously declined to act on. Cuomo has denied wrongdoing.
Democrats and Republicans alike, though, have for years lambasted Cuomo for the 2020 nursing home policy. That, along with sexual misconduct accusations against him from more than 10 women, formed the basis for the impeachment inquiry the state Legislature launched into Cuomo in 2021 before he resigned as governor.
Cuomo drew particular ire for his administration’s undercount of the number of nursing home COVID deaths in New York, with House Democrats releasing a report late last year concluding he inappropriately “interfered” with the tally and arguing he “should be held accountable.”
Though the nursing home matter is a fraught issue for him, Cuomo’s new ad indicates he will try to use the Trump DOJ probe as a badge of honor as he continues to poll as the favorite to become the next mayor of New York City, where Trump remains deeply unpopular.
AG James, whose investigative report on Cuomo’s alleged sexual harassment contributed to his political downfall in 2021, found it curious the ex-gov included her in his new ad, but noted the spot only referred to her by title, not by name.
“Say my name, say my name. It’s Letitia James, and my candidate is Adrienne Adams,” James told the Daily News in a statement, referring to the Council speaker’s mayoral run, which she has endorsed. The speaker declined comment.
One of Cuomo’s other mayoral primary opponents, Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, who has for weeks accused Cuomo of not pushing back enough on some of Trump’s most controversial policies, argued the DOJ probe explains the ex-gov’s silence.
“Now, New Yorkers know why: Cuomo was attempting to keep his failed legacy of nursing home deaths and COVID mismanagement off the front pages,” Myrie said. “We deserve better than crooked, corrupt Cuomo who has spent decades in office ignoring the law to serve himself. We cannot trade one compromised mayor for another.”
In response to Myrie’s broadside, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said the governor’s team didn’t know anything about a DOJ probe until the New York Times first reported about it late Tuesday. “Myrie once again has shown he talks without thinking,” Azzopardi said.
Myrie’s “one comprised mayor for another” comment was referring to Mayor Adams, who was charged by the DOJ in a sweeping federal corruption indictment while Biden was still in office.
Once Trump came into office, his political appointees — without opining on the merits of the case — secured a controversial dismissal of Adams’ indictment because they said they needed it quashed so he could play a larger role in helping the president’s “mass deportation” agenda.
Adams, who has since the dismissal faced accusations he’s beholden to Trump’s agenda, stayed clear of taking a shot at Cuomo following news of the DOJ investigation.
“Investigations must take their course, and I’m not going to do to him what others did to me,” Adams, who has denied a quid pro quo with Trump, told reporters after an unrelated press conference in Manhattan on Wednesday morning. “I’m going to allow the investigation to take its course.”
Adams is no longer running in the Democratic mayoral primary, having dropped out of it amid fallout from his indictment dismissal. But he is seeking reelection as an independent candidate in November’s general election, meaning he could face off against Cuomo in that contest if he wins the Democratic primary.
Ex-City Comptroller Scott Stringer, another candidate in June’s mayoral primary, said both Cuomo and Adams should be considered compromised by Trump at this point.
“For the people in New York City, here we go again: A president with a thumb on the next mayor,” he said at a mayoral candidate forum Wednesday, “and that’s just the political reality of what this city is facing.”
Originally Published: May 21, 2025 at 5:04 PM EDT
