Zoran Mamdani, a Democrat and front-runner in New York’s mayoral race, said “disgusting” attacks on his Islamic faith come from both parties.
New York mayoral candidates face off in final debate
Andrew Cuomo, Zoran Mamdani and Curtis Sliwa clashed over President Trump, housing, crime and sexual harassment allegations.
NEW YORK – In the final stages of New York’s mayoral race, with polls showing Mamdani in the lead, Zoran Mamdani called recent attacks on him by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo “disgusting” and “racist.”
Governor Cuomo said on October 23 that Mamdani, 34, was unable to handle crises like the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the city nearly 25 years ago. Cuomo, who is running as an independent, appeared on the conservative radio program “Sid and Friends in the Morning” the morning after the final debate between Democratic candidate and state representative Mamdani and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
“Can you imagine another 9/11 happening with Mamdani sitting there?” asked Mr. Cuomo, 67.
“You can do it,” host Sid Rosenberg said. “I’m sure he’ll be supportive.”
Cuomo laughed and said, “That’s a different question.”
Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist state legislator, will become New York City’s first Muslim mayor if polls continue until the Nov. 4 general election. Nearly one in 10 New Yorkers is Muslim, and many faced profiling and surveillance in the aftermath of the 2001 attacks. The data also shows a rise in Islamophobia.
“This is terrible,” Mamdani told PIX 11 News. “This is Andrew Cuomo’s final moment in public life, and he is choosing to spend it making racist attacks.”
Cuomo campaign spokesman Rich Azzopardi said the former Democratic governor disagrees with Rosenberg’s assertion that Mamdani would support a terrorist attack. Azzopardi said in an email that Cuomo had mentioned Mamdani’s appearance on popular left-wing commentator Hasan Piker’s show in April. In 2019, Piker said, “America deserved 9/11, dude.”
A week ago, in response to a question from Cuomo during a debate, Mamdani called Piker’s comments “disgusting and reprehensible.” Mr. Cuomo did not mention Mr. Piker until 10 minutes into the interview.
“The general theme of the conversation was that Mandani is completely unqualified and unprepared to be mayor of the greatest city on earth. That’s what every New Yorker thought last night,” Azzopardi wrote.
Earlier in the same broadcast, Rosenberg called Mamdani a “terrorist.”
Cuomo removes AI-generated ads
The incident was not the only controversy for Mr. Cuomo as he tries to bounce back in the polls.
On October 22, Cuomo’s campaign ran an ad showing AI-generated “Zoran criminals,” but it has since been removed.
The video showed Mamdani eating rice with her hands, a custom that is traditional for many people in India, where Mamdani’s mother is from, and is popular among right-wingers. They also included a black shoplifter wearing a keffiyeh, a symbol of Palestinian resistance, and a black man acting as a pimp with a van full of white women.
Muslim political advocacy group CAIR Action accused Mr. Cuomo of a series of “Islamophobic and racist attacks” against Mamdani.
“Andrew Cuomo’s comments are despicable, dangerous and disqualifying,” CAIR Action Executive Director Basim Elcala said in a statement, adding, “Mr. Cuomo has crossed a moral line.”
“This rhetoric is not only deeply Islamophobic, it is reckless and life-threatening to Muslim, Arab, and South Asian New Yorkers who are still living with the trauma of the post-9/11 backlash,” Elkala said.
Republicans and Democrats are under fire
Both Republicans and Democrats have fiercely attacked Mamdani’s identity since his primary victory over Cuomo in June.
On the Republican side, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, an ally of President Donald Trump who is running for governor, repeatedly and inaccurately called Mamdani a “jihadist.” There is no evidence that Mamdani, who has condemned terrorist attacks including Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, supports “jihad,” meaning the struggle against the enemies of Islam.
Laura Loomer, an ally of President Trump and a self-described “proud Islamophobe,” said New York will soon have sharia law. Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) told Mamdani, a Ugandan-born naturalized citizen, to “go back to the Third World” in response to a video of him eating rice with his hands.
In September, Queens prosecutors charged a 44-year-old Texas man with making terroristic threats against Mamdani.
On PIX 11, Mamdani said bigotry and racism are not just a Republican problem. After the primary, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) falsely told WNYC that Mamdani had “referenced global jihad.” Gillibrand later apologized.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams also cited the specter of Islamism in endorsing Cuomo on October 23.
“Guys, New York can’t be Europe,” Adams said. “I don’t know what’s wrong with people. You see what’s happening in other countries because of Islamic extremism.”
Mamdani has criticized Israel’s existence as a Jewish state and its treatment of Palestinians. Mamdani called Israel’s devastating siege of Gaza after the Hamas-led offensive in southern Israel in 2023 a “genocide” (a term used by the United Nations Special Committee and some human rights groups). Many New Yorkers agree with Mamdani, and polls show a plurality on the side of the Palestinians.
His opponents have attacked him for appearing on Piker’s show and for dodging Fox News’ foreign policy questions about the future of Hamas. (He later said the group had committed atrocities and should be disarmed.) He has also been hesitant to condemn the popular pro-Palestinian rallying cry, “Globalize the Intifada,” which some interpret as an attack on Jews. Mamdani later said he no longer uses that word.
Recently, Mamdani caused controversy by posing with Imam Siraj Wahadj, who has expressed his opposition to homosexuality. Mr. Wahaj attended along with past mayors and became the first Muslim to make a vow in the House of Commons.
The conservative-leaning New York Post also reported that Wahadj was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombings. Mr. Wahaj was not indicted, and former prosecutors said the list was too broad, The New York Times reported.
In the final debate, Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Sliwa both attacked Mr. Mamdani for his stance on Israel and sought to portray him as incapable of dealing with rising anti-Semitism to protect Jews, who make up about one-tenth of New York City. Sliwa, citing her two Jewish sons, called Mamdani an “arsonist who is fanning the flames of anti-Semitism.”
Mamdani has repeatedly committed to increasing resources to combat hate crimes and condemned all forms of bigotry, but rejected any comments that promoted anti-Semitism.
“Frankly, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I’m the first Muslim candidate on the verge of winning this election,” he responded.
Representative Jerry Nadler of New York, who is Jewish and supports Mamdani, defended Mamdani on social media.
“Imagine if this type of bigotry was used against New Yorkers of other faiths, Jews and Christians,” Nadler said. “Shall I turn over and accept it?”
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Contact us via email (emcuevas1@usatoday.com) or Signal (emcuevas.01).
