Private donor dinners often prompt politicians to make politically damaging statements, as shown by past gaffes from Obama, Romney, and Clinton. Andrew Cuomo spoke at a Hamptons fundraiser to wealthy supporters and asserted he could win the New York mayoral race as an independent by counting on implicit support from President Donald Trump. Cuomo framed the election as primarily about defeating Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, and sought to build a coalition of his loyal Democrats and Trump-aligned Republicans. Cuomo dismissed Curtis Sliwa as an unserious candidate and portrayed Trump’s influence as a way to minimize Sliwa’s vote.
There are few more dangerous places for a politician than a private dinner with wealthy donors. Amid the luxurious habitat of the jet set, even the most tactful and diplomatic campaigner is tempted to let their guard down and make politically damaging statements. Fundraisers were where Barack Obama spoke dismissively of working-class voters who "cling to guns or religion," Mitt Romney sneered at the "47 percent" of Americans who he claimed pay no taxes, and Hillary Clinton wrote off half of Trump voters as "deplorables."
Former New York governor and currently flailing New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo is the latest politician to fall prey to the curse of the wealthy donor dinner. But unlike his predecessors, his gaffe is not about voters. It's about himself. Politico reports that at a Hamptons fundraiser last Saturday, Cuomo told his well-heeled supporters that, contrary to all available evidence, he could win the New York mayoral race as an independent-because he was likely to have the implicit support of President Donald Trump.
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