Mayor Eric Adams endorsed Governor Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayor’s race on Thursday — a major turnaround for a mayor who just last month called Mr. Cuomo “a snake and a liar.”

This endorsement comes as Mr. Cuomo tries desperately to close the double-digit gap with the frontrunner, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, in the final days before early voting starts on Saturday. The election is November 4.

The endorsement may be a turnaround for Mr. Adams, but it comes as no shock. Mr. Cuomo said at the mayoral debate on Wednesday night that he would welcome an Adams endorsement, while his competitors, Mr. Mamdani and the Republican nominee, Curtis Sliwa, said they would not.

After the debate, Mr. Cuomo skipped the spin room and raced to Madison Square Garden to watch the Knicks game with the mayor. It was a show of unity that cameras captured and on which critics pounced.

“He’s endorsing me,” Mr. Cuomo told The New York Sun on Thursday, when he met with the Editorial Board. “Ideologically, I think we are both moderate Democrats supportive of Israel.”

Mr. Cuomo, though, did try to differentiate himself from the scandal-plagued mayor, offering a dig of sorts. “Ideology is one lens, and then there’s management, competence/experience, effectiveness. And I think if you look at my record, you will see that I was highly effective as an executive,” he said.

“Brothers fight,” Mr. Adams said at the endorsement, referring to his previous spats with the governor. “Yes, am I angry that I’m not the one taking down Zohran, the socialist and the communist. You’re darn right I am. But you know what? The city means more to me than anything.”

It’s unclear how much Mr. Adams’ endorsement will impact Mr. Cuomo’s numbers. The mayor has low approval ratings and was polling at 10 percent or less. After he dropped his reelection bid in September, Mr. Cuomo saw a 10 percent bump in the polls, suggesting he’s already won Mr. Adams’ base.  

Mr. Adams told the New York Times that he will campaign for Mr. Cuomo in these final weeks to help him get out the vote. “I think it’s imperative to really wake up the black and brown communities that have suffered from gentrification on how important this race is,” he said.

The bigger thorn in Mr. Cuomo’s side is Mr. Sliwa. Mr. Cuomo needs to attract Sliwa voters if he has any shot at beating Mr. Mamdani. Cuomo backers have been pushing to get Mr. Sliwa to drop out of the race, but he is refusing. Mr. Sliwa attacked Mr. Cuomo in Wednesday’s debate.

“To his voters, I say, if they make a list of the things they want done, I will fit that list,” Mr. Cuomo said. “Mayor is not an especially ideological position, right? Fiorello La Guardia — no Democratic or Republican way to pick up the garbage.”

When asked by the Sun if he’d reached out to Mr. Sliwa — or would — to make a deal, similar to the one President Trump made with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mr. Cuomo demurred. “I’ve never talked to him, besides on the debate stage,” he said.