Andrew Cuomo’s campaign is all about MAGA influencers
Only with 13 Days before New York’s mayoral election, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is teaming up with some of the influencers who helped President Donald Trump win the White House last year.
Over the past week, right-wing creators like Logan Paul, a former podcast blogger and WWE wrestler, and Emily Austin, an influencer and sports commentator, have released content featuring Cuomo as a guest on their shows. The appearances are a new venture by Cuomo’s team to gain online attention as a means of competing against social media-savvy Democratic candidate Zahran Mamdani. But instead of trying to cut off Mamdani’s online support, Cuomo appears to be trying to shore up Republican nominee Curtis Sliva.
“It’s a disappointing swing,” said one Democratic strategist, who spoke to WIRED on condition of anonymity. “An obvious desire to align with power at all costs, wherever that power may be, is one of the reasons why he’s so online. It’s a misunderstanding of the moment.”
The Cuomo campaign’s decision to align itself with the online right comes after a new poll found the race between Cuomo and Mamdani to be tighter if GOP candidate Curtis Sliva drops out. Cuomo, a registered Democrat, is running on the independent line after failing to defeat Mamdani in the Democratic primary.
Cuomo’s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
“I’m sure his advisors are giving him advice like, ‘You need traction online,’ and they’re going to get it at any cost,” the strategist tells WIRED. “It’s the kind of consulting brain where they think they have to grow up and get attention without realizing that the attention that Zahran is getting isn’t being paid. It’s coming from creators who believe in her and see her vision as their vision.”
According to Fox’s recent post on X, Cuomo’s collaborations with conservative influencers come days after the former governor’s campaign forced pro-Israel creator Zach Sage Fox to run his own “social media campaign.” According to Fox’s LinkedIn account, he is the CEO of Fat Camp Films, a company that describes itself as Hurry Movies on the Internet. LADBible, two massive social media brands and Instagram accounts that collect viral content from around the internet.
On Fat Camp Films’ website, the company touts Fox’s work with Mike Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign, which at the time flooded social media with pro-Bloomberg memes, becoming one of the first political campaigns to officially partner with the parent company of meme sites like Fuckjerry.
