"Mamdani has privately lamented that the trappings of being the Democratic nominee, with its chauffeured SUVs and security..."

"... take him away from the hand-to-hand contact that propelled his primary win. And the campaign has wrestled internally with the question of whether or not Mamdani should position himself as more of a normie Democrat.... Then came the news that Trump wanted to intervene on Cuomo’s behalf. Had Adams or Sliwa simply quietly dropped out and ended up with an administration appointment months down the line, the link between them and Trump wouldn’t have been as clear. But the ham-handed and nearly public machinations by Trump and people supportive of Cuomo have been so shameless that it’s fair to wonder if the whole thing is a psyop, a scheme to secretly boost Mamdani so that Trump can have him as a foil. Regardless, Trump casting himself as Cuomo’s virtual running mate lit a fire for the Mamdani campaign.... 'This is no longer a race between Zohran and an opponent trying to cobble together a coalition of voters who don’t like him,' said Morris Katz, a senior Mamdani adviser. 'It’s a race between Zohran and Donald Trump.'"

Writes David Freedlander, in "Trump Bump/The president has jumped into the mayoral race. But is he helping Cuomo or Mamdani" (New York Magazine).