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Critics are ripping apart the latest campaign ad for New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo, which shows the former Empire State governor helping a fellow New Yorker by giving his vehicle a jump-start on the side of a city street.
“New Yorkers, start your engines…Together, we can fix this city!” Cuomo said in a post on Instagram that included the campaign video. “We can be there for each other. We help. We do. And we will — together.”
The accompanying video begins with Cuomo looking down into the open engine compartment, while appearing to signal to the driver to give the engine a crank.
A clicking sound is then heard before Cuomo jumps into action, and the camera pans down to show the black jumper cable attached to the negative battery terminal, and the red cable in the mayoral candidate’s hand.
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NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo is seen in a new campaign ad jump-starting a vehicle on a city street. (Andrew Cuomo Campaign)
Cuomo then connects the red cable to the vacant battery terminal before jump-cutting to where he is getting into the driver’s seat of another vehicle, perceived to be his.
After starting the vehicle, Cuomo looks into the rearview mirror of his vehicle, and the shot switches to the driver in the other vehicle, turning the key.
The car starts right up, and the driver gets out with a smile on his face. He then slaps five with Cuomo, though you do not see the candidate’s face.
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A driver reacts after NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo just-starts his car in a new campaign ad. (Andrew Cuomo Campaign)
The two are then seen talking afterward as Cuomo hands the other driver the jumper cables.
While the video may give off a positive vibe to some, critics took every opportunity to slam Cuomo’s newest ad.
One viewer wrote, “He hooked up the cables in the wrong order,” while another wrote, “Hi Cuomo media team! Hope you leave this off your resumes.”
Cuomo’s marketing team was also accused in the comments of being out of touch with voters.
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Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced he was relaunching his New York City mayoral campaign as an independent. (David ‘Dee’ Delgado/Reuters)
When reached for comment on Wednesday, Cuomo’s team told Fox News Digital the reactions are “the height of stupidity.”
“The governor is a trained mechanic who put himself through college driving a tow truck for AAA,” the spokesperson said. “The permanently online trolls wasting their time criticizing him helping a fellow New Yorker would likely have to call AAA if they were in the same situation. They should touch some grass.”
But not all the comments were negative toward Cuomo. In fact, one viewer praised the video and Cuomo’s campaign ad.
“Alright, let’s hear those engines roar! Start your engines!” the viewer wrote. “The type of leadership that has hands on experience and stops to help complete strangers in time of need. Don’t mind getting hands dirty and always lending a helping hand. Kind and considerate which we need more of. Andrew Cuomo is that guy!”
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New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani attends the 2025 New York City Pride March on June 29. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)
The former three-term governor, who is gunning for a political comeback after resigning in 2021 amid multiple scandals, was convincingly defeated last month by Mamdani in the Democrat mayoral primary.
Mamdani’s primary victory over Cuomo and nine other candidates rocked the Democrat Party, and boosted the Ugandan-born 33-year-old state assemblyman from Queens toward becoming the first Muslim and first millennial mayor of the nation’s most populous city.
Cuomo, in a video on Monday announcing his decision to stay in the race, said, “Only 13% of New Yorkers voted in the June primary. The general election is in November, and I am in it to win it.”
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And Cuomo charged, “My opponent, Mr. Mamdani offers slick slogans but no real solutions.”
While he acknowledged Mamdani’s victory in the primary, Cuomo left the door open to a November run as an independent candidate, which election rules in New York state permit.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.
