Andrew Cuomo has found the reply button — and he’s utilizing it to attempt to attain a brand new viewers on social media as he races to catch as much as Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani within the marketing campaign for mayor.
“Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” the previous governor wrote to a enterprise capitalist who suggested President Donald Trump in response to reward. It gave the impression to be a variation of a Muhammad Ali quote, although Ali initially stated, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”
Replying to supporters praising his posts, Cuomo has despatched varied emojis, together with boxing gloves and flames. When a consumer referred to as him a “merchant of utter nonsense,” Cuomo shot again: “Make it make sense.”
Many consultants and pundits attributed Mamdani’s resounding defeat of Cuomo within the Democratic major at the very least partially to the 33-year-old assemblymember’s social media savvy. Cuomo’s marketing campaign has been hoping to achieve voters on-line as he lags behind Mamdani in latest polls. However the outcomes are combined, in keeping with political science consultants and marketing campaign strategists.
Since July, the standard movies that dominated Cuomo’s feed — resembling press conferences or speaking on to the digital camera — disappeared. Of their place had been movies that mimicked Mamdani’s model, using artsy methods like filters and shaky cameras that appear geared toward driving digital visitors.
Beginning early this month, Cuomo started commonly participating with particular person customers who commented on his posts, notably on X.
Cuomo marketing campaign: ‘We’re going to voters the place they’re’
Wealthy Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo’s marketing campaign, stated the marketing campaign wished to “shake things up” after Cuomo’s major loss.
“We’re going to voters where they are,” Azzopardi informed New York News. “And that’s in the streets, that’s at the block party, that’s at the festivals, and it’s on social media, so we had to beef up our social media game.”
The change seems to have occurred just about in a single day. He went from posting nearly no replies on X and Instagram on Aug. 4, just a few on Aug. 5, after which dozens per day after that.
Lupe Todd-Medina, a Democratic strategist who will not be presently concerned within the mayoral race, stated Cuomo is attempting to reinvent himself in an area the place Mamdani is already profitable.
“It’s really difficult to try to start a certain kind of campaigning when you’ve never done it before and you’re doing it for the first time right during the general election,” Todd-Medina informed New York News. “For Assembly Member Mamdani, it’s different — that’s just who he is. That was already his brand.”
“It’s not authentic coming from Cuomo,” Todd-Medina added.
Azzopardi stated Cuomo will not be attempting to “out-Mamdani Mamdani” however reasonably aiming to indicate voters the previous governor’s concepts and plans.
Joshua Tucker, co-director of the Heart for Social Media and Politics at New York College, stated Mamdani tapped into comparatively latest developments in digital media that prioritize algorithms over followers. Mamdani engineered his posts to go viral whereas together with substantive coverage proposals, Tucker stated.
Tucker added that in one among Mamdani’s most well-known movies, the place he introduced his assist for a lease freeze whereas taking a polar plunge, the assemblymember defined the town’s affordability disaster alongside the attention-grabbing setting.
“The question for Cuomo is how much the followers were just excited by the social media videos, versus whether they were excited by the message that Mamdani was getting out there using social media,” Tucker stated. “So Cuomo just picking Twitter fights is probably going to get him more attention, but I don’t think there’s any particular policy issue that anyone is associating with it.”
Azzopardi stated Cuomo’s latest submit criticizing Mamdani for residing in a rent-stabilized residence reached 35 million views, which Azzopardi argued confirmed the previous governor’s means to combat on-line.
On-line pushback
However Cuomo’s digital push has generated blowback.
After Cuomo reposted sarcastic reward for his new marketing campaign brand, one other consumer prompt the unique poster change his X username to “Andrew Cuomo Is A Sex Pest” — which he did. The replies dissolved into critics attacking Cuomo for his 11 sexual harassment allegations that prompted him to resign as governor; Cuomo deleted his submit.
Azzopardi mocked the web critics.
“When you’re more aggressive online, dealing with those with great cell phone reception under the bridges that they call home is part of the joys of social media,” Azzopardi stated.
The deal with social media in politics will not be new, however Cuomo continues to be not tapping into its full potential, stated Katherine Haenschen, an affiliate professor of communication research and political science at Northeastern College.
Haenschen stated social media is a chance to personify politicians, permitting them to work together with constituents on-line whereas showing extra relatable. However she stated many politicians battle to grasp that ability, which places Mamdani .
“There’s just a handful of politicians that have shown, time and time again, the ability to have content that’s good and relatable that your supporters would want to share with other people with their friends,” Haenschen stated.
Whereas Cuomo has moved on from a feed populated with endorsements and bulletins, the vast majority of his responses merely thank or agree with supporters — albeit typically utilizing puns or emojis.
Chi Ossé, a progressive Brooklyn councilmember who is thought for his sturdy social media technique, stated Cuomo’s makes an attempt at on-line engagement really feel inauthentic.
“It’s embarrassing,” Ossé stated. “My grandmother uses social media better than Cuomo. I just have to laugh.”
Todd-Medina stated social media is a “bubble,” so it’s unlikely Cuomo’s new on-line presence will dramatically reshape the race.
“How Mamdani really beat Cuomo is that he was everywhere,” Todd-Medina stated. “He met people where they’re at, and where they are at is not on social media. Where they’re at is in their neighborhoods, at their block club meetings, at the public pool, in the supermarket, on the subway. You don’t need to be on Twitter to know that.”
