Trump wants Katsimatidis to run for mayor of New York City against Eric Adams who was taking “gifts” from Türkiye

A Greek-American, and a billionaire at that, mayor of New York City? Why not? Developments are already racing ahead at breakneck speed. Incumbent mayor Eric Adams may well be counting down the days in office after the Manhattan District Attorney’s office brought a slew of serious corruption charges against him. Charges largely the outgrowth of his longstanding “close contacts” with the Turkish lobby, of course with no compensation.

The relevant legislation is complex: it provides for elections within 60 days, but with no party labels, at least of sorts, but with free participation of candidates on a list.

And here comes the name of John Katsimatidis to stir the pot, as he is the first to be discussed as a successor to the city. From political and business circles to ordinary New Yorkers. A Washington Times report revealed that it is already unanimously proposed by Republican Party committees in all 5 boroughs (Manhattan, Harlem, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island). Keep in mind that his daughter Andrea has been chair of the Manhattan Republican Party since 2017. And that he ran for their mayoral nomination in 2013, unsuccessfully.

He’s thinking about it

Katsimatidis is thinking about it. “I haven’t decided yet,” he told Page Six, revealing that he’s received hundreds of requests to run. “I’m working on it. I want New York to do well. We want to help it,” he added.

The issue of Katsimatidis’ candidacy is also being viewed positively in the prospect of him being the Republican nominee in November 2025, when the regular election will be held.

What’s the surprising thing? John Katsimatidis admitted with disarming honesty to Page Six: “You know what I’m most afraid of? That I might win.”

But why did he say that? Because he knows that two watermelons don’t fit under the same armpit. And therefore, if elected mayor, he must also essentially hand the keys to his businesses to his son, John Katsimatidis Jr. As early as January he announced his promotion to the position of chairman and CEO of the Red Apple Group. The behemoth he has created that houses dozens of corporate entities. King of East Coast supermarkets, a powerful player in energy and real estate, building skyscrapers from Florida to New York. And with his latest business move, to enter the growing market for small nuclear reactors (SMRs), confirming that he’s aiming much higher.

Republicans are pushing him to accept the “challenge”, believing they can use him to win back New York City. The 76-year-old Katsimatidis, though an avowed Republican, is also insightful to the opposite electorate. To ordinary citizens, he is more than just a successful businessman; he ideally embodies the American dream. A Greek immigrant boy from Nisyros, who managed to make it big without the slightest help, but only with his entrepreneurial mind and strict dedication to work. To build a real empire, valued at 4.5 billion dollars, the ceiling of which is still unknown.

Political friends

Katsimatidis’s relationship with politics is old and stormy, but it’s also had its ups and downs. He belonged to the Republican Party and switched to the Democrats when Michael Dukakis, also an expatriate, was running for president in 1988. In 2000, he endorsed the Democratic nomination of Al Gore. A longtime loyal friend of the Clintons and a major donor to Hillary in her 2008 campaign for the Democratic nomination.

He rejoined the Republicans and in 2012 endorsed Mitt Romney. Since then, she has consistently sided with Trump. He is not only one of his blue-chip campaign donors, but also a very close friend.

He firmly believes that Trump is the most qualified next president based on his past tenure.

In the dozens of photos, from many American presidents to the late Michael Gorbachev and Fidel Castro, in the vast hallway of his home, there is evidence of his broader powerful political influence.

His weekly radio show “Cats and Cosby,” on his privately owned station 77WABC, is breaking ratings records. Clinton, Obama and, of course, Trump – but not Biden – have passed through the microphones. In 2021 he also discussed buying CNN, and previously attempted, again without success, to buy the Daily News.

Patrice, Religion, Family

For John Katsimatidis the supreme value of life is love and service to his country. While he prioritizes the United States where he grew up and grew up, he always includes his native Greece. At the same time, his moral compass is marked on the one hand by his faith in Orthodoxy, he is deeply religious, he has been honored with the title of Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and on the other hand by the institution of the family.

At his side for 36 years has been his -second- wife Margo Katsimatidis, born in Indianapolis. A great personality. At the age of just 12, she was the youngest person invited to dance with the famous Bolshoi Ballet. She left for New York in 1971 with a career in dance in mind, studied ballet under a famous Russian instructor, and appeared in many theatrical productions. An injury, however, led her to eventually channel her creative talent and energy in other directions. In 1973, Margo Vaudersaar became a secretary at the then-newly emerging Red Apple Supermarkets. This defined her career, but also her personal life, as she eventually married the company’s owner John Katsimatidis.

In 1984 she founded MCV Advertising Associates, an advertising agency specializing in print advertising. Together with John, he and John are co-editors of the Hellenic Times, the largest English-language Greek-American newspaper. Its Scholarship Fund, driven by Margo, has been raising funds since 1989, including organizing the largest Hellenic-American dinner party in the country. It has awarded over $2 million in scholarships to 800 students of Greek-American descent.

The Successor

John Katsimatidis Jr. is the successor at the helm of Red Apple Group. He is a graduate of New York University Stern School of Business, with a degree in finance. He has worked at the group since he was 18, being a student. Before the promotion, he was the company’s chief investment officer, responsible for multiple acquisitions. Of how he grew up, he describes how “every Sunday my father would take me and my sister to the supermarket to teach us merchandising.”

John Catsimatidis with his wife Margo Vaudersaar and his heir to the business, John Jr.

A few days ago he was joined in matrimony to his beloved Meghan, with whom they are expecting their first child. He will also be named John Katsimatidis III. The ceremony was held in an intimate circle at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, on 74th Street in New York City.

A few days earlier, the family had held an open reception for the event. Among the guests were businessmen Michael Psarros, John Pagliavlas, and doctor Peter Michalos. The ceremony was followed by a wedding reception at the Pierre Hotel on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, next to Central Park.

The explosive Andrea

A multifaceted personality, Andrea, just 33, first joined the group as a director of Red Apple Real Estate and CEO of Gristedes. She graduated from New York University’s Stern School of Business with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in political science and communications.

In addition, she had managed, at only 20, to marry Richard Nixon‘s grandson, Christopher Nixon-Cox. They met in 2008 when he was working on presidential candidate John McCain’s campaign.

Their fabulous wedding was the social event of 2011, for its cost of more than $1 million, with an extravagant reception at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, as well as for the gathering of unprecedented business and political firepower. Among the 700-plus guests were Hillary Clinton, the late Henry Kissinger, John Kerry and others. But it didn’t solidify. As tumultuously as it happened, the announcement of their separation came like a bolt of lightning. They do, however, maintain excellent relations. Andrea considers him her best friend.

The explosive Andrea, daughter of John Katsimatidis, has been chairwoman of the Manhattan Republican Party since 2017</figure capture>

Earlier this year, on the day of Valentine’s Day, Andrea went public via Instagram about her relationship with 47-year-old Mario Max Saubourg Limbe, posting a photo of them against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower. She met him last September at the opening of the Rampoldi New York restaurant in Manhattan, according to Page Six. Mario Max, whose princely status/royal lineage is strongly questioned by British publications, has appeared on the German “Big Brother” and in America on Bravo TV’s “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and “Millionaire Matchmaker” in search of a wife! This relationship didn’t take root in the end either. The couple split in June, with Andrea simply telling Page Six that “we went our separate ways” with no further details.

Andrea has known the Trump couple since childhood. “I know him through the world of real estate and charity events. I think people hate him because the media tells them to hate him. Melania has incredible class and a fantastic presence,” he says.

The Rehabilitation

Eric Adams, 64, is accused by Manhattan prosecutors of accepting more than $100,000 in gifts from Turkish decision-makers as mayor of Brooklyn. These included upgrades to his Turkish Airlines position and a suite at a hotel in Istanbul on his frequent trips there. In exchange for pressuring the New York Fire Department to allow Erdogan’s infamous “Turkish House” (Türkevi) to be opened in the fall of 2021, even though the fire suppression system was not legally licensed. A 36-storey skyscraper, opposite that of the UN, costing $300 million, houses the Turkish consulate and delegation to the UN.

It is the first time a sitting New York City mayor has been prosecuted. The FBI investigated him for months over suspicions about his 2021 campaign financing. It even seized his electronic devices, suddenly in public view. The 57-page indictment outlines a plan that began in 2014. It’s heavy. It cites acts of electronic fraud, illegally soliciting campaign contributions from a foreigner and accepting bribes from a Turkish official. But also that Adams continued the suspicious transactions after he became mayor.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing serious charges of suspicious ties and dealings with the Erdogan family</figure capture>

He touts his adoration for Turkey. He publicly boasts that as mayor he has visited it seven times and had stated that he was planning to buy property in Istanbul. According to reports, he also reportedly received donations between 2018 and 2021 from the Turken Foundation founded by Bilal Erdogan. According to the Turkish opposition, Erdogan’s family vehicle for funneling money out of the country.

He claims the charges are political targeting because of his criticism of the Biden administration’s immigration policy. He says he will prove his innocence and equates his prosecution to those of Trump and Senator Bob Menendez. The Biden administration has categorically denied allegations of political targeting.

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