Gloves came off during Thursday’s two-hour debate between three candidates for New York City mayor: Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who initially ran as a Democrat before switching to independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
Mamdani is leading the polls with 49% support, followed by Cuomo at 30% and Sliwa with 13%, according to the data compiled by Decision Desk HQ.
Mamdani has garnered the most national attention, including criticism from President Donald Trump, for his socialist policies and his controversial statements on law enforcement and the Israel-Hamas war.
Cuomo, who faced sexual harassment allegations in 2020 and was accused of mishandling COVID-19 nursing home deaths, directed most of his attacks at Mamdani as Sliwa interjected himself into the conversation. Here are three highlights from the debate.
Israel-Gaza ceasefire deal
Cuomo addressed the recent ceasefire deal and credited the Trump White House for the feat.
“I’m proud to be one of the first elected officials in the state who called for a ceasefire,” Mamdani said.
Commenting on the deal, Mamdani said, “Of course, I believe that they should lay down their arms” but fell short of crediting Trump.
“A ceasefire means ceasing fire. That means all parties have to cease fire and put down their weapons, and the reason we call for that is not only for the end of the genocide but also an unimpeded access of humanitarian aid.”
Cuomo chimed in and slammed Mamdani for not condemning Hamas.
“I have denounced Hamas again and again,” Mamdani said. “It will never be enough for Andrew Cuomo, because what he is willing to say, even though not on this stage, is to call me the first Muslim on the precipice of leading this city a terrorist sympathizer.”
He said Cuomo was part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “legal defense team during the course of this genocide.”
Sliwa attacked Mamdani, saying that the Democratic nominee couldn’t gain the trust of Jewish Americans who have been victims of antisemitic attacks.
NYC mayoral candidates on Trump
All the candidates addressed how they would tackle the Trump White House to protect the interests of New Yorkers.
Mamdani accused Cuomo of cozying up to Trump during this mayoral race.
“What distinguishes me from Andrew Cuomo is the fact that he has gotten on the phone with that same president — not asking him how to work together to help New Yorkers or not telling him that he would refuse to back down to protect those New Yorkers, but instead asking him how to win this race,” Mamdani said. “That’s something I can do myself.”
Mamdani said he would work with the U.S. president but warned that if Trump ever went against the interests of New Yorkers, “he’s going to have to get through me as the next mayor of this city.”
Cuomo pushed back, saying Mamdani would fail to protect the city from Trump.
“If the assemblyman is elected mayor, Donald Trump will take over New York City and it will be Mayor Trump,” Cuomo said.
Meanwhile, Sliwa said he was willing to “sit and negotiate.”
“You can be tough, but you can’t be tough if it’s going to cost people desperately needed federal funds,” he added.
But they all agreed that they are against the Trump administration’s desire to send the National Guard to New York City.
Defund the police
Sliwa, largely ignored during the debate, targeted both candidates over their comments regarding law enforcement.
“You, Andrew Cuomo, during the summer of 2020, said if you don’t reform police departments, I’m going to defund you. And you certainly said that, Zohran Mamdani,” Sliwa said.
Both Mamdani and Cuomo’s criticism of police and public safety came after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis.
As of late, Mamdani’s comments about defunding the police and banning “all guns” have been circulating online.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican, said banning firearms “would be great for criminals (who’d never surrender their weapons) and devastating for law-abiding Americans (who’d then be at the mercy of still-armed criminals). For that reason, our Constitution takes that option off the table.”
“Hard pass!” he added.
A day before the debate, Mamdani issued a public apology to law enforcement for his previous criticism, where he called them “racist,” “wicked” and “corrupt.”
“I’ll apologize to police officers right here, because this is the apology that I’ve been sharing with many rank-and-file officers,” Mamdani told Fox News. He has also reached out to the NYPD in private and apologized.