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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a warning to New York amid the rise of Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, saying he believes the candidate’s election could lead to more “turmoil.”
“This guy makes de Blasio look like Ronald Reagan,” DeSantis said Wednesday on “Fox & Friends,” referring to former Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Mamdani, who won the Democratic nomination earlier this year, is facing Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa and independent nominee Andrew Cuomo in the Nov. 5 general election.
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DeSantis argued that Mamdani’s “far-left” policy positions could drive more residents and businesses out of New York and into Florida.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks out against New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani during an appearance on “Fox & Friends.” DeSantis argues that Mamdani’s progressive policies would create instability and “turmoil” in New York City. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
A new study from the nonpartisan Citizens Budget Commission found that more than 150,000 New Yorkers moved to Florida between 2018 and 2022, while only about 50,000 relocated in the opposite direction.
“It’ll probably cause Palm Beach to go up, for sure,” DeSantis said of his anticipated New York exodus.
Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens, has campaigned on reducing police funding, increasing taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations and making the city more affordable.
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The assemblyman recently came under fire for posing for a photo with a Brooklyn imam who once served as a character witness for one of the masterminds behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani speaks during an interview on “The Story with Martha MacCallum” at Fox News in New York City on Oct. 15. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
“We’re not even 25 years removed from September 11, and it was universal in that city and around the country, you know, ‘never again.’ We were never [going to] go down this road,” DeSantis said.
“Then you got a guy who is sympathetic with communism, Islamism, and he’s [going to] get elected mayor in this city. I think, quite frankly, it’s a disgrace.”
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He also questioned Mamdani’s leadership and prior social media posts calling to defund the police.
“When you’re somebody that wants to disband the NYPD, those rank-and-file officers, those are blue-collar, hardworking people. They are not [going to] want to work for a guy like this,” he argued.
New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani speaks to volunteers at a canvass launch in Brooklyn on Sept. 28. (Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“You’re [going to] see a lot of turmoil, and I think that it will show that the city will further go down.”
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Mamdani has publicly apologized for his anti-police comments — specifically a post he uploaded in 2020. He appeared on “The Story,” where he agreed to formally apologize to police officers.
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“Absolutely, I’ll apologize to police officers right here,” Mamdani said.
“This is the apology that I’ve been sharing with many rank-and-file officers. And I apologize because of the fact that I’m looking to work with these officers, and I know that these officers, these men and women who serve in the NYPD, they put their lives on the line every single day.”
Madison is a production assistant for Fox News Digital on the Flash team.