Does De Blasio 'Love' Cuomo? Not So Much

NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo raised eyebrows toward the end of his Wednesday night gubernatorial debate with Cynthia Nixon by proclaiming his "love" for Mayor Bill de Blasio, despite their strong political feud.

"I love Mayor de Blasio. I’m sure he loves me in a strange sort of way," Cuomo said. "After 30 years we have a dysfunctional relationship."

But the governor may have spoken too soon — de Blasio sidestepped on Thursday when asked whether he indeed loves Cuomo, saying only that he respects him.

"It's like a valentine," he said of the governor's remark.

"I have known the governor since 1995. I respect him," de Blasio added at an unrelated news conference, talking around the word "love." "Obviously we’ve had times when we were closer and times when we had differences. But I respect him."

The two Democrats' indeed go back decades. When he led the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the 1990s, Cuomo tapped de Blasio to oversee the New York region for the department. The mayor also reportedly helped Cuomo secure the Working Families Party endorsement for his re-election bid in 2014, when he faced a Democratic primary challenge from Zephyr Teachout, who is now running for attorney general.

But their relationship has soured more recently. They've sparred over everything from the Metropolitan Transit Authority to a deer in Harlem. They're also both thought to be harboring presidential ambitions, though neither has declared plans to run in 2020.

But they have come together when it mattered, such as after last year's Halloween terror attack on the Hudson River Greenway. They also embraced after a 2016 explosion in Chelsea.

De Blasio acknowledged Thursday that he has "real philosophical differences" with Cuomo, but he said the two still talk regularly.

"I have a very different understanding of what it means to be a Democrat. I have some real differences on how he has addressed some of the issues related to New York City," de Blasio said. "But of course I respect him, and there’s a longstanding connection."

Asked for comment on de Blasio's remarks, a Cuomo campaign spokeswoman said the governor's statements stand on their own.

(Lead image: Mayor Bill de Blasio, left, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo appear at a news conference in 2014. Photo by Bryan Thomas/Getty Images)