NEW YORK − President Donald Trump doesn't appreciate comparisons to Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor.

In a wide-ranging interview on CBS' "60 Minutes" that aired Nov. 2, Trump, a Queens native, weighed in on the mayor's race in his hometown ahead of the Nov. 4 general election.

Norah O'Donnell asked Trump what he thought of comparisons to Mamdani, 34, as a left-wing version of the 79-year-old Republican president. They are both seen as charismatic leaders breaking old rules.

"Well, I think I'm a much better looking person than him," Trump responded.

Trump also cut off O’Donnell as she described Mamdani, a state assemblyman also from Queens, as a "democratic socialist" by arguing, wrongly, he was a "communist."

"Communist, not socialist," Trump said. "He's far worse than a socialist."

While communism and democratic socialism share some features, communist societies are not democratic. Communism is most readily associated with the one-party dictatorships of the Soviet Union and present-day China. In prosperous democratic socialist countries like Norway, Sweden and Denmark, high taxes fund a broad array of public services.

Trump said he preferred former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to Mamdani. Trump has already indicated he thought Cuomo, running as an independent, had a better shot against Mamdani, who has led in polls.

"I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or the other," Trump said. "But if it’s gonna be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I’m gonna pick the bad Democrat all the time to be honest with you.”

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for Cuomo's campaign, said Trump did not endorse Cuomo, calling the president's comments "stream of consciousness."

Cuomo has said he wouldn't accept Trump's endorsement.

"I have not had a conversation, nor would I accept an endorsement from President Trump," Cuomo told NBC News’ "Meet the Press NOW" in early October.

Polls show the race tightening as Mamdani looks to hold his lead after defeating Cuomo in a stunning upset in the June primary. Cuomo opted to run as an independent candidate against Mamdani.

New York City skews heavily Democratic, and Trump is unpopular in New York, according to polls.

Mayor Eric Adams faced accusations of cozying up to Trump to drop federal corruption charges against him. Adams, a moderate Democrat, denied any quid pro quo took place when the Justice Department dropped the case, but it further sunk his chances at re-election. Adams dropped out of the race and endorsed Cuomo.

Mamdani quickly seized on Trump's recent comments on "60 Minutes."

"Congratulations, @AndrewCuomo," Mamdani said in an X post. "I know how hard you worked for this."

If Mamdani became mayor, Trump said it would be hard for him to give "a lot of money" to New York, saying Mamdani would waste the money with his politics.

Mamdani's campaign has focused on addressing affordability in the nation's largest city with proposals such as universal child care and free buses that would need the state to raise taxes on the city's wealthiest to fund them. Trump has already cut funds to New York, even before the mayoral election.

(This story was updated with new information.)

Contributing: Bart Jansen, USA TODAY

Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'I'm a much better looking person.' In closing days of NYC race, Trump swipes at Mamdani

Reporting by Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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