Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani and independent candidate Andrew Cuomo attack each other During the first of two general election debates In the New York City mayoral race on Thursday, Cuomo looks to chip away at his opponent’s comfortable lead.
It was the first time that the candidates had returned to the debate stage since Mayor Eric Adams dropped out of the race in September. Despite the fact that the debate also included Republican Curtis Sliwa, the fight between the New York State Assemblyman and the former New York governor took center stage at the event, which was hosted by NBC 4 New York/WNBC, Telemundo 47/WNJU and Politico.
Cuomo attacked Mamdani over his experience as well as his past comments on police and the phrase “globalize the intifada.” Meanwhile, Mamdani argued that Cuomo lacks the integrity to be mayor of the city and criticized his gubernatorial tenure. The candidates will have to hold another debate with their rivals on Wednesday to make their final pitch to voters.
Here are five takeaways from the first debate:
Gloves come off between Mamdani, Cuomo
The race between Mamdani and Cuomo has heated up for months, and Thursday’s debate underlined how ugly their dynamic has become as both men hurled insults at each other.
Cuomo made a veiled attack on Mamdani, saying, “This is not a job for on-the-job training, and if you look at unsuccessful mayors, they’re the ones who have no management experience. Don’t do it again.”
Cuomo also attacked Mamdani over some of his past comments on the New York City Police Department and former President Obama, as well as his refusal to condemn the phrase “globalization of the intifada.”
Cuomo said, “If you pay attention, the Assemblyman still won’t say he believes Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state. He’s a divisive personality.” “All around. The NYPD is racist. Barack Obama is evil, a liar, and he pointed the finger at a statue of Christopher Columbus.”
During a primary debate in June, Mamdani said that “Israel has the right to exist as a state with equal rights,”According to The New York TimesHe toooffered a public apologyThe New York City Police Department was slammed on Wednesday for past comments calling the police force “racist,” “evil” and “corrupt.”
New York PostinformedMamdani had previously criticized Obama as “evil” and suggested he was a liar when Mamdani was a college student. Politico’s Jeff Koltinreported this“This is a stupid tweet from a college student,” Mamdani said regarding his previous comments on Obama.
Meanwhile, Mamdani has said that he will not use the phrase “globalization of the intifada” and would discourage it from being used by others. Pro-Israel activists say it risks inciting violence against Zionists and Jews, while pro-Palestinian activists see it as tantamount to large-scale Palestinian liberation.
On his part, Mamdani said Cuomo is grateful to his donors and thanked them for their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. Justice Departmentinvestigating CuomoRegarding congressional testimony he gave last year in which he suggested he was not involved in the state health department’s report on how the state handled COVID-19 and its policies.
A Cuomo spokesperson at the time called the investigation “the rule of law and election interference, plain and simple.” During the debate, Cuomo rejected the idea that he was being investigated by Trump’s Justice Department.
Responding to Cuomo, who suggested that the job of mayor of New York City is not for a novice, especially if the city is dealing with a hurricane or a pandemic, Mamdani retorted: “And if we have a health pandemic, why would New Yorkers return to a governor who sent seniors to nursing homes to their deaths? That’s the kind of experience being offered here today.”
He said, “What I don’t have in experience, I make up for with honesty, and what you don’t have in honesty, you can never make up for with experience.”
Trump’s shadow looms over the debate
President Trump took up much of the talking during Thursday’s debate, with both Mamdani and Cuomo accusing each other of being unable to compete with Trump if elected. Mamdani attacks former New York governorOn a report from the New York TimesThat Trump and Cuomo talked about the mayoral race. Both men have refused to speak about it.
Mamdani said, “What separates me from Andrew Cuomo is that he talked to the same president on the phone – not asking him how to work together to help New Yorkers or telling him he would refuse to step back to protect those New Yorkers, but asking him how to win this race.” “It’s something I can do myself.”
Cuomo also suggested that Mamdani would not be able to defend New York City against Trump. “If the Assemblymember is elected mayor, Donald Trump will take charge of New York City and he will be Mayor Trump,” the former governor said.
Mamdani seeks to address concerns over views on Israel-Hamas conflict
One of the issues influencing Mamdani’s campaign is his stance on Israel and the broader Israel–Hamas conflict. After avoiding a clear answer on the issue during an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Mamdani clarified during the debate that “of course” he wanted Hamas to lay down its arms.
Mamdani said, “Of course, I believe they should lay down their weapons. I’m proud to be one of the first elected officials in the state to call for a ceasefire and calling for a ceasefire means firing.”
“This means that all parties have to cease firing and lay down their weapons, and the reason we are calling for this is not only for an end to the genocide, but also for unhindered access for humanitarian aid,” he said.
Cuomo at one point did not directly say whether he thought Mamdani was anti-Semitic, saying: “I know there are many Jewish people who believe he is anti-Semitic,” again attacking Mamdani over the phrase “globalize the intifada.”
Mamdani said, “I have repeatedly condemned Hamas, and that will never be enough for Andrew Cuomo, because what he wants to say, even if not on this stage, is to call me, the first Muslim to lead this city, a ‘terrorist sympathizer,’ and send mail that makes my beard look artificially long.”
many timesreported in juneA super PAC supporting Cuomo featured a photo of Mamdani on a mailer that was not sent out but whose markup was leaked online, where the appearance of his beard was altered.
A spokesperson for the super PAC told the Times that “upon review it was immediately rejected for production and later fixed,” adding: “We are troubled that it was posted online without our consent.”
Sliva struggles to stand out
Amid the constant back-and-forth between Mamdani and Cuomo, Sliwa struggled to distinguish herself, sometimes expressing frustration that she was being ignored during the debate.
“The debate is three,” Sliwa said at one point. “Do we accept it? Three people?”
Although Sliva is trailing Mamdani and Cuomo in the polls – the average polling of surveys on the raceCompiled by Decision Desk HeadquartersShows Mamdani at 49 percent, Cuomo at 30 percent and Sliva at 13 percent – they still have a modest share of support among New Yorkers.
Nevertheless, Sliwa used his time to attack both of his opponents. While Cuomo has tried to portray Mamdani as tough on crime and anti-police, Sliwa has attacked both of them over their views on law enforcement.
Sliwa said, “You, Andrew Cuomo, during the summer of 2020, you said, if you don’t reform police departments, I will revoke your funding. And you certainly said that to Zoharan Mamdani.” The Republican is likely referring to a 2020 executive order issued by Cuomo that pushed law enforcement agencies to reform their departments in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, and threatened to withhold funding if they did not do so.
Those attacks are particularly unhelpful to Cuomo, who will need crossover votes from Republicans to keep the race against Mamdani competitive.
Unlikely to be a game-changer
It is doubtful that the debate will dramatically change the course of the race, especially since Mamdani maintains a comfortable two-point lead in polling over Cuomo.
Mamdani largely needed to avoid any major mistakes that would have sapped his momentum somewhat, while Cuomo needed to either have strong standout moments or use more powerful attacks to topple the New York State Assemblyman.
Cuomo’s jabs have so far not made much of an impact when it comes to Mamdani’s lead, raising questions about whether he will be able to successfully change the course of the race in several weeks.
Still, Cuomo has another debate next week, where he may be able to muster standout moments or find a more powerful line of attack against Mamdani.
