Mamdani and Trump continue to heap praise on each other. Why expert say this undercuts Blakeman.

Republican Bruce Blakeman has made New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani a central figure in his political messaging — first in his 2025 reelection run for Nassau County executive and this year in his bid to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul.

In social media ads and on the campaign trail, Blakeman has targeted Mamdani, a democratic socialist, as an adversary of New York Republicans and has vowed to put an end to what they have described as an anti-capitalist, anti-law enforcement ideology. 

But this week some Republicans say it's a tough sell after a warm encounter outside Manhattan's Gracie Mansion pundits dubbed "a bromance" between Mamdani and Republican President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Blakeman. Beyond creating an unusual political backdrop six weeks before Election Day, what does the unexpected alliance between the unapologetic capitalist U.S. president and the democratic socialist New York City mayor do to the GOP message? 

For experts, it's an unfavorable wrench thrown against Blakeman and fellow Republicans. 

"It certainly doesn't help," said Michael Dawidziak, a Suffolk-based political strategist who has worked on mostly Republican campaigns. "This is not just Bruce Blakeman, this is a wide variety of campaigns locally and even nationally who are using Mamdani as the socialist boogeyman this year and then all of a sudden we are watching this kumbaya meeting." 

Even as unpredictable a political force Trump can be, some question the president's atypical praise earlier this week in hoping that Mamdani would be a "great" mayor with "potential." Mamdani, who has been in office about 10 months after defeating Andrew M. Cuomo, has proven his influence in pockets of the city after Democratic congressional candidates he backed won June primaries.  

Former Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford), an ally of Blakeman who serves as a contracted senior adviser, said Trump's affinity "undercuts the message that Mamdani is bad for New York." 

"His [Mamdani's] views are so antithetical to what most of us believe — I think what the majority of New Yorkers believe — and for the president to be reaching out to him the way he does, sends the wrong signal," he said.

King pointed out that Republicans up and down the ballot have "raised legitimate issues against Mamdani based on the things he has said and done" and don't want to see Trump "embracing" and "giving credibility" to the mayor. 

The relationship has also attracted reaction nationally. Meghan McCain, a conservative Republican, commentator and daughter of the late Sen. John McCain, took to the social media platform X: "Why do Trump and Mamdani have a bromance? What purpose does this serve for either of them?" 

Mamdani and Trump have formed a cordial relationship and have reportedly spoken on the phone and texted each other directly since Mamdani's first Oval Office visit in late November 2025. Even with differing ideologies, the two men share an affection for New York City and appear to be aligned on the need to develop more housing. 

When asked whether the president calculated any political risk to Republicans, White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster told Newsday that Trump simply cares about New York and did not mention Blakeman. 

"President Trump is a native New Yorker who cares deeply about his hometown and the safety and wellness of its residents. The president’s top priority is always improving the lives of Americans everywhere, and he continues to show time and time again his grace and diplomacy extend beyond ideology," Schuster said.

Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec did not answer Newsday's questions on whether the mayor thought his relationship with Trump would elicit such a strong reaction in some political circles. 

For his part, Blakeman, who has spoken often about his friendship with Trump, says he's completely independent from the president.

"I make my own decisions. And President Trump has been a friend of mine for many, many years, and I am a loyal friend, and he is a loyal friend," Blakeman said.

Proxy campaigns are nothing new in American politics as candidates aim to define their opponent early on in the election cycle. In the New York governor's race, Mamdani and Trump are likely the best known national figures both with sizable, populist followings on social media.

Their relationship, in some ways, could force both the Blakeman and Hochul campaigns to shift to the issues voters care more about, said Lawrence Levy, executive dean of the Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University, who also says "it definitely muddies up the attack waters for both campaigns." 

"Regardless of the political calculations, the best thing for voters would be if both candidates dropped these lines of attack and focused more on who they are, what they've done and how they're going to make life better for all residents," Levy said. 

Grant Reeher, political science professor at Syracuse University, said he wasn't sure the Mamdani-Trump alliance would have an impact once voting begins. The optics, however, makes for a confusing few weeks. 

"If I'm Bruce Blakeman, and I have a direct line to Trump, I would definitely be calling him to say 'Mr. President would you please pause this personal affinity for a couple of months?'" Reeher said. 

Nassau County Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Cairo said there would be no shift in the party's messaging. The Gracie Mansion meeting — even as it marked the third time Mamdani and Trump met since taking office — was purely "governmental," Cairo said. 

"I don't think it adversely impacts any of us. I think it rather shows that the president is willing to reach out and work on governmental issues with people on the other side of the aisle," Cairo said. 

State and Nassau County Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs, who did not endorse Mamdani, said Blakeman and Republicans "have gone out of their way to tell everyone that the governor and every other Democratic candidate is Mamdani's best friend." 

 "Well, Donald Trump just took the wind out of their sails because he has made it clear that he is a fan of Mayor Mamdani and he's willing to work with him so really how bad can Mayor Mamdani be?" Jacobs said. "Hard to paint Mamdani as the bad guy when their idol, Donald Trump, proves the opposite." 

Newsday's Bahar Ostadan contributed to this story. 

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.