New York City Mayor Eric Adams revealed Monday that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked him to drop out of the mayoral race, but he said he's not leaving.
"Well, you know, there's a real history with Andrew Cuomo and particularly Black elected officials. He did it to Carl McCall… He pushed out Charlie King when he was running for attorney general after raising $5 million," Adams told CNBC's "Squawk Box."
CNBC's Becky Quick asked Adams about whether he had spoken to Cuomo at all about the possibility of the former governor exiting the race.
ERIC ADAMS WARNS ZOHRAN MAMDANI IS A 'SNAKE OIL SALESMAN' AFTER DEM SOCIALIST'S NYC MAYORAL PRIMARY WIN
Adams, who's been the mayor of New York City since 2022, then revealed that Cuomo asked him to step aside.
"I said, Andrew, are you that level of arrogance?" Adams said. "I'm the sitting mayor. I'm the sitting mayor of the city of New York, and you expect for me to step aside when you just lost to [Zohran Mamdani] by 12 points. He was up 32 points, $30 million. You lost. They heard your message and you lost. Now let a fresh set of legs that has produced for this city, and that's the highest level of arrogance."
Adams was elected as a Democrat in 2021 but recently announced he would run for re-election as an independent this year following low approval ratings and federal corruption charges that have since been dropped. He has been critical of Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's economic proposals, and has said there is "no dignity" in socialism.
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"This is a city not of socialism," Adams said recently during an event officially launching his re-election bid. "There's no dignity in someone giving you everything for free. There's dignity in giving you a job, so you can provide for your family and the opportunities that you deserve. This is not a city of handouts."
Both Adams and Cuomo are reportedly calling for a full investigation into allegations that Mamdani said he was African American on his 2009 application to Columbia University.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, said, "Mayor Adams did not run in the Democratic primary because he knew he was anathema to Democrats and unelectable. Nothing has changed. We do not see any path to victory for Mayor Adams."
Azzopardi added, "This is the time to put aside the usual political selfishness and agree to do what is truly best for all New Yorkers. While we review this proposal, we call on other candidates to do the same."
Cuomo served as governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021 over accusations of sexual harassment.
