Zahran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo exchange insults in the final New York City mayoral debate

Zahran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo clashed Wednesday in the final New York mayoral debate, which fully laid bare their personal animosity and the range of their differences on city and national issues.

Throughout the 90-minute debate, Cuomo — the former Democratic governor running as an independent — called Mamdani, 34, a state Assemblyman, a “kid” who would be beaten by President Donald Trump as a “great actor” and “a divisive force in New York” who brings “toxic energy to New York.”

Mamdani, the Democratic nominee who defeated Cuomo in the party’s June primary, blasted Cuomo as a “desperate man” and a “Trump puppet” whose political career is almost certainly in the past.

The controversial event, held three days before early voting began and less than two weeks before Election Day, comes as Mamdani maintains a double-digit lead in public opinion polls.

With time to narrow the gap further before the election is over, Cuomo attacked one Mamdani after another, criticizing him for not having enough experience to lead a city of about 9 million and stand up to Trump, who has repeatedly vowed to withhold federal funding from New York if Mamdani wins.

Cuomo attacked Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, in his opening statement as someone with “no new ideas” and a “rehash” of Mayor Bill de Blasio, saying he has “never run anything, never run anything, and has never had a real job.”

Mamdani criticized Cuomo as someone who “will only talk about the past” and “a desperate man who lashes out because he knows that the one thing he has always cared about, power, is now eluding him.”

Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, who also participated in the debate, took on his rivals.

“Zahran,” he said, “your resume could fit on a cocktail napkin.” “And you, Andrew, your failures could fill a New York City public school library.”

Wednesday’s debate also came amid growing calls among Mamdani’s opponents for Sliwa to withdraw from the race to create a more competitive two-man contest with Cuomo. Sliwa, who said earlier in the day that he was leaving his Conservative radio position, gave no indication that he would exit the race.

Affordability, housing, homelessness, New York-centric issues like education and policing – Mamdani He confirmed that he would keep New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch – made up the bulk of tonight’s debate. But the candidates were first asked to weigh in on questions with national implications, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and how to deal with Trump.

Candidates were asked how city officials should have handled an ICE raid this week that targeted undocumented immigrants who may have ties to illegal street vending.

Cuomo responded that he was going to call Trump and tell him: “Look, you’re off limits.”

“I’ve dealt a lot with President Trump, and there’s only one way to deal with him. He sticks his finger in your chest, and you have to put your finger back in his chest,” Cuomo said. “We don’t need ICE to do quality-of-life crimes. We don’t want them to worry about illegal vendors. That’s the core policing function of the NYPD.”

Mamdani criticized ICE as “a reckless entity that cares little about the law and even less about the people it is supposed to serve,” and promised to “end the separation of cooperation between the City Council and the federal government.”

Asked how to work with or against Trump, Mamdani said he would fight him “every step of the way” on deporting Americans and going after his political enemies. But when it comes to Trump’s promises to lower the cost of living, Mamdani said he would be open to working together.

He added: “If he wants to talk to me about the third part of the agenda, I will always be ready and willing.”

Mamdani added: “We heard from Donald Trump’s puppet himself, Andrew Cuomo. You can turn on the TV any day of the week, and you will hear Donald Trump say that his choice for mayor is Andrew Cuomo, and that he wants Andrew Cuomo to be mayor not because it will be good for New Yorkers, but because it will be good for him.”

Trump called Mamdani Communist and threatened to withhold federal funds He will deploy the National Guard, as he has done in other major cities, if he wins the November election.

Cuomo seized on Trump’s comments.

“You’re going to have to face him, and you can beat him. I faced him, and I beat him,” Cuomo said. He added that Trump “said he would take over New York if Mamdani wins, and he will, because he doesn’t respect him.”

“He thinks he’s a kid and he’s going to knock him over,” Cuomo added.

Tensions emerged again after the candidates were asked how their views on Gaza and Israel would affect their ability to be an effective mayor.

In a fiery exchange, the three candidates sparred over who was best at combating anti-Semitism in the city, with Mamdani beginning by promising to protect Jewish New Yorkers and supporting a plan to offer more lessons about the Jewish experience in New York in public schools.

But Cuomo told Mamdani: “Not everything is a TikTok video. You’re the savior of the Jewish people? You’re not going to denounce [the phrase] “Globalization of the Intifada,” which means “Kill the Jews.” He added that Mamdani was among a group of leaders “who fanned the flames of hatred against the Jewish people.”

Cuomo’s comments referred to Mamdani’s previous decision not to condemn the phrase “globalization of uprising.” The New York Times later reported that Mamdani secretly promised this “Discourage” its use.

Mamdani responded that the city needs “a leader who takes charge.” [antisemitism] Seriously, who is uprooting it from these five boroughs, not who is using it as a weapon as a way to score political points on the debate stage.

Saliwa then jumped in, describing Mamdani and Cuomo as “schoolyard kids.” He said many of his family members view Mamdani “as an arsonist who fanned the flames of anti-Semitism.”

“They can’t suddenly accept the fact that you’re coming in as a firefighter and you’re going to put out this fire,” he said.

Mamdani also drew attention to the sexual harassment allegations that prompted Cuomo to resign as governor in 2021 by announcing that one of the women Who made such accusations?Charlotte Bennett was among the attendees.

“I have sought access to her gynecological records. She cannot speak for herself because you have filed a defamation case against her,” Mamdani said. “However, I can speak.”

“What would you say to the 13 women you sexually harassed?” Cuomo asked.

Cuomo, who has denied the allegations, responded that “everything I just said, I just said, was a misrepresentation — which we are used to.”

Bennett this year Her lawsuit was settled v. New York, which claimed the state did not do enough to prevent Cuomo’s alleged sexual harassment. Como He threatened to sue her This year on charges of defamation.

Mamdani also attacked Cuomo Due to a scandal related to counting the number of deaths in nursing homes during the Covid pandemic Who besieged his administration as governor.

Mamdani said: “You will hear from Andrew Cuomo about his experience, as if the issue is that we do not know about it. The problem is that we have all gone through your experience.” “The problem is that we’ve seen you get a $5 million book deal while sending elderly people to their deaths in nursing homes.”

“It’s your experience,” he added.

Cuomo responded by diving back into his main accusations against Mamdani.

“The problem is you don’t have the experience,” he said. “You haven’t accomplished anything.”