(The Hill) — Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani and independent candidate Andrew Cuomo lobbed attacks at each other during the first of two general election debates in the New York City mayoral race on Thursday, as Cuomo seeks to chip away at his opponent’s comfortable lead.
It was the first time the candidates were back on the debate stage since Mayor Eric Adams exited the race in September. Despite the fact that the debate also included Republican Curtis Sliwa, the fighting between the New York State assemblymember 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.
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Cuomo attacked Mamdani over his experience, as well as his past comments over the police and the phrase “globalize the intifada.” Meanwhile, Mamdani argued Cuomo didn’t have the integrity to be the city’s mayor and criticized his gubernatorial tenure. Cuomo is the brother of NewsNation host Chris Cuomo.
The candidates will have one more debate on Wednesday to make their last pitch to voters alongside their competitors.
Here are five takeaways from the first debate:
Gloves come off between Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo
The race between Mamdani and Cuomo has grown heated for months, and Thursday’s debate underscored just how ugly their dynamic has become as the two men hurled insults at each other.
“This is no job for on-the-job training, and if you look at the failed mayors, they’re ones that have no management experience. Don’t do it again,” Cuomo said in a veiled attack at Mamdani, who has served in the New York State Assembly since 2021.
Cuomo also hit Mamdani over some of his past remarks on the New York City Police Department and former President Obama, while also criticizing his refusal to condemn the “globalize the intifada” phrase.
“If you notice, the Assemblyman still won’t say he believes that Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state. He is a divisive personality,” Cuomo said. “All across the board. NYPD are racist. Barack Obama is evil, liar, and he gave the finger to the Christopher Columbus statue.”
Who is NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani?
During a primary debate in June, Mamdani said that “that Israel has a right to exist as a state with equal rights,” according to the New York Times. He also offered a public apology to the New York City Police Department on Wednesday for past comments calling the police force “racist,” “wicked” and “corrupt.”
The New York Post reported that Mamdani has previously criticized Obama as “evil” and suggested he was a liar when Mamdani was a college student. Politico’s Jeff Coltin reported that Mamdani said “that’s the stupid tweet of a college student,” regarding his past remarks on Obama.
Meanwhile, Mamdani has said he would not use the phrase “globalize 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 equate it largely with Palestinian liberation.
For his part, Mamdani said Cuomo was beholden to his donors and knocked him over the state’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Justice Department is investigating Cuomo about congressional testimony he gave last year in which he suggested he wasn’t involved in a report from the state’s health department around how the state dealt with COVID-19 and its policies.
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A Cuomo spokesperson at the time called the probe “lawfare and election interference plain and simple.” During the debate, Cuomo refuted the idea he was being investigated by Trump’s Justice Department.
Responding to Cuomo, who suggested the New York City mayoral job was not one for a newbie, particularly if the city grappled with a hurricane or pandemic, Mamdani shot back: “And if we have a health pandemic, then why would New Yorkers turn back to the governor who sent seniors to their death in nursing homes? That’s the kind of experience that’s on offer here today.”
“What I don’t have in experience, I make up for in integrity, and what you don’t have in integrity, you could never make up for in experience,” he added.
Trump looms large over debate
President Trump took up much of the conversation during Thursday’s debate, with Mamdani and Cuomo both casting the other as being incapable of taking on Trump if elected. Mamdani attacked the former New York governor over a report from the New York Times that Trump and Cuomo spoke about the mayoral race. The two men have denied speaking about it.
“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.”
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Cuomo also suggested Mamdani wouldn’t be able to protect New York City against Trump. “If the Assemblyman is elected mayor, Donald Trump will take over New York City, and it will be Mayor Trump,” the former governor said.
Zohran Mamdani seeks to allay concerns over Israel-Hamas views
One of the issues that has consumed Mamdani’s campaign is his view on Israel and the broader Israel-Hamas conflict. Mamdani made clear during the debate that “of course” he wanted Hamas to lay down its arms after he avoided offering a clearer answer on the issue during an interview with Fox News on Wednesday.
“Of course, I believe that they should lay down their arms. I’m proud to be one of the first elected officials in the state who called for a ceasefire, and calling for a ceasefire means seizing fire,” Mamdani said.
“That means all parties have to cease fire and put down their weapons, and the reason that we call for that is not only for the end of the genocide, but also an unimpeded access of humanitarian aid,” he added.
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 “globalize the intifada” phrase.
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“I have denounced Hamas again and again, and 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,’ is to send mailers that artificially lengthen my beard,” Mamdani said.
The Times reported in June that a super PAC supporting Cuomo showed a photo of Mamdani on a mailer, which was not sent out but whose markup was leaked online, where the appearance of his beard was changed.
A spokeswoman for the super PAC told the Times that “upon review it was immediately rejected for production and was subsequently corrected,” and added: “We are disturbed that this was posted online without our consent.”
Curtis Sliwa struggles to stand out
Amid the constant back-and-forth between Mamdani and Cuomo, Sliwa struggled to distinguish himself, at times even expressing frustration that he was being ignored during the debate.
“The debate is three,” Sliwa said at one point. “Do we acknowledge that? Three people?”
Though Sliwa is trailing behind Mamdani and Cuomo in the polls — a polling average of surveys on the race compiled by Decision Desk HQ shows Mamdani at 49%, Cuomo at 30% and Sliwa at 13% — he still holds a not-insignificant portion of support among New Yorkers.
Still, Sliwa did use his time to attack both his opponents. While Cuomo has tried to cast Mamdani as being tough on crime and an opponent of police, Sliwa attacked both of them over their views on law enforcement.
“You, Andrew Cuomo, during the summer of 2020, you said, if you don’t reform police departments, I’m going to defund you. And you certainly said that Zohran Mamdani,” Sliwa said. The Republican is likely referring to a 2020 executive order Cuomo issued that pushed law enforcement agencies to reform their departments in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, threatening to hold funding if they didn’t.
Those attacks are particularly unhelpful for Cuomo, who will need crossover votes from Republicans in order to keep the race competitive against Mamdani.
Unlikely to be a game-changer
It’s doubtful the debate will dramatically change the course of the race, particularly since Mamdani has maintained a comfortable double-digit lead in polling over Cuomo.
Mamdani largely needed to avoid any major gaffes that would have eroded some of his momentum, while Cuomo either needed to have strong standout moments or utilize more potent attacks to knock down the New York State assemblyman.
Cuomo’s jabs so far haven’t made much of a dent when it comes to Mamdani’s lead, raising questions about whether he’ll be able to successfully change the course of the race in several weeks.
Still, Cuomo has one more debate next week, where he might be able to glean standout moments or find a more potent line of attack against Mamdani.
