{"id":14623,"date":"2025-10-24T04:39:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T04:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/14623\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T04:39:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T04:39:12","slug":"zohran-mamdani-says-andrew-cuomo-uses-racist-attacks-in-nyc-mayors-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/14623\/","title":{"rendered":"Zohran Mamdani says Andrew Cuomo uses ‘racist’ attacks in NYC mayor’s race"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2212 Zohran Mamdani<\/a> called former Gov. Andrew Cuomo<\/a>\u2019s latest attacks against him \u201cdisgusting\u201d and \u201cracist\u201d in the closing days of the New York City mayor’s race<\/a>, which show Mamdani leading in polls.<\/p>\n

Cuomo on Oct. 23 said Mamdani, 34, couldn\u2019t handle a crisis like the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the city nearly 25 years ago<\/a>.\u00a0Cuomo, running as an independent, appeared on the conservative radio show, \u201cSid and Friends in the Morning<\/a>,\u201d the morning after a heated final debate with Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and a member of the state Assembly, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod forbid, another 9\/11, can you imagine Mamdani in the seat?\u201d Cuomo, 67, asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could,\u201d host Sid Rosenberg said. \u201cHe\u2019d be cheering.\u201d<\/p>\n

After laughing, Cuomo responded, \u201cThat\u2019s another problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani, a democratic socialist state assemblyman, would be the first Muslim mayor in New York City history if polls hold<\/a> until the Nov. 4 general election. Nearly one in 10 New Yorkers are Muslim<\/a>, and many faced profiling and surveillance in the aftermath of the 2001 attacks<\/a>. Data also indicates rising Islamophobia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is disgusting,\u201d Mamdani told PIX 11 News<\/a>. “This is Andrew Cuomo\u2019s final moments in public life, and he\u2019s choosing to spend them making racist attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cuomo campaign spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said the former Democratic governor didn’t agree with Rosenberg’s assertion that Mamdani would cheer a terrorist attack. In an email, Azzopardi said Cuomo was referring to Mamdani appearing<\/a> on popular left-wing commentator Hasan Piker<\/a>‘s show in April. In 2019, Piker said, “America deserved 9\/11, dude<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

A week earlier,\u00a0Mamdani denounced Piker’s comments<\/a>, calling them \u201cobjectionable and reprehensible,” when asked by Cuomo in a debate. Cuomo didn’t reference Piker until 10 minutes later in his interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe overall topic of the conversation was that Mamdani is deeply unqualified and unprepared to be Mayor of the Greatest City on earth, which every New Yorker saw last night,\u201d Azzopardi wrote.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the same broadcast, Rosenberg referred to Mamdani as a “terrorist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cuomo deletes AI-generated ad<\/p>\n

The incident wasn\u2019t Cuomo\u2019s only controversy as he tries to claw back in polls.<\/p>\n

On Oct. 22, Cuomo\u2019s campaign posted, then deleted, an AI-generated ad showing<\/a> \u201ccriminals for Zohran.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Democratic<\/p>\n

Democratic New York state legislator Zohran Mamdani participates in a second New York City mayoral debate in Long Island City, Queens, on Oct. 22, 2025.<\/p>\n

The video featured footage of Mamdani eating rice with his hands \u2212 a traditional practice for many in India, where Mamdani’s mother is from \u2212 which has become a fixation among right-wing figures. It also included a Black shoplifter wearing a keffiyeh, a symbol of Palestinian resistance, and another Black man as a pimp with a van full of white women.<\/p>\n

CAIR Action, a Muslim political advocacy organization, condemned Cuomo for a series of \u201cIslamophobic and racist attacks\u201d against Mamdani.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndrew Cuomo\u2019s comments are despicable, dangerous, and disqualifying,\u201d Basim Elkarra, CAIR Action\u2019s executive director, said in a statement, adding \u201cCuomo crossed a moral line.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis rhetoric is not only deeply Islamophobic \u2014 it\u2019s reckless and life-threatening to Muslim, Arab, and South Asian New Yorkers who still live with the trauma of the post-9\/11 backlash,” Elkarra said.<\/p>\n

Republicans, Democrats stoke flames<\/p>\n

Both Republicans and fellow Democrats have lobbed attacks about Mamdani’s identity since his primary victory against Cuomo in June.<\/p>\n

On the Republican side, Rep. Elise Stefanik, of New York, an ally of President Donald Trump eyeing a run for governor, has repeatedly and inaccurately called Mamdani <\/a>a \u201cjihadist.\u201d There is no evidence that Mamdani, who has condemned terrorist attacks including Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 assault on Israel<\/a>, supports “jihad” which means a struggle against enemies of Islam.<\/p>\n

Trump ally Laura Loomer, a self-described \u201cproud Islamophobe<\/a>,” has said New York would soon have sharia law. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, told Mamdani to \u201cgo back to the Third World<\/a>\u201d in response to a video of Mamdani, a naturalized American citizen born in Uganda, eating rice with his hands.<\/p>\n

In September, Queens prosecutors charged a 44-year-old Texas man<\/a> with making terroristic threats against Mamdani.<\/p>\n

On PIX 11, Mamdani said bigotry and racism wasn\u2019t exclusively a GOP problem. After the primary, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, falsely told WNYC<\/a> that Mamdani made \u201creferences to global jihad.\u201d Gillibrand later apologized<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In endorsing Cuomo on Oct. 23, New York City Mayor Eric Adams also invoked the specter of Islamism.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York can\u2019t be Europe, folks,\u201d Adams said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what is wrong with people. You see what\u2019s playing out in other countries because of Islamic extremism.”<\/p>\n

Mamdani has criticized Israel’s existence as a Jewish state and its treatment of Palestinians. Mamdani has called Israel\u2019s devastating siege of Gaza after the 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel a \u201cgenocide,” a term used by a U.N. special committee<\/a> and some human rights organizations<\/a>. Many New Yorkers have come to agree with Mamdani, and the plurality side with<\/a> Palestinians in polls.<\/p>\n

\"Supporters<\/p>\n

Supporters of mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani attend a campaign rally at United Palace on October 13, 2025 in New York City. With the general election weeks away, Mamdani has a double-digit lead over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who’s running as an independent.<\/p>\n

His opponents have attacked him for appearing on Piker’s show, or dodging a foreign policy question on FOX News about Hamas\u2019 future<\/a>. (He later said the group committed atrocities and should disarm.) He\u2019s also been hesitant to denounce the popular pro-Palestinian rallying cry, \u201cglobalize the intifada<\/a>,\u201d which some take to mean attacks against Jews. Mamdani later said he wouldn\u2019t use that language.<\/p>\n

More recently, Mamdani stirred controversy by posing with Imam Siraj Wahhaj<\/a>, who has expressed opposition to homosexuality. Wahhaj has appeared with several prior mayors and was the first Muslim to give the invocation<\/a> in the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n

The conservative-leaning New York Post<\/a> has also reported Wahhaj was listed as an un-indicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Wahhaj was never charged, and former prosecutors said the list was overly broad, the New York Times reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the final debate, Cuomo and Sliwa both attacked Mamdani for his stances on Israel and sought to portray him as incapable of addressing rising antisemitism<\/a> to protect Jews, who account for about a tenth of New York City. Sliwa, who pointed to his two sons who are Jewish, called Mamdani \u201cthe arsonist who fans the flames of antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani, who has repeatedly committed to increasing resources to combat hate crimes and condemned all forms of bigotry, denied making any comments that promote antisemitism.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrankly, I think much of it has to do with the fact that I\u2019m the first Muslim candidate to be on the precipice of winning this election,\u201d he responded.<\/p>\n

Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., who is Jewish and endorsed Mamdani, defended him on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Imagine if this kind of bigotry was used against any other faith \u2212 Jewish or Christian New Yorkers,” Nadler said. “Would we roll over and accept it?”<\/p>\n

Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at\u00a0emcuevas1@usatoday.com<\/a>\u00a0or on Signal at emcuevas.01.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cuomo makes ‘racist,’ ‘Islamophobic’ attacks against Zohran Mamdani<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2212 Zohran Mamdani called former Gov. Andrew Cuomo\u2019s latest attacks against him \u201cdisgusting\u201d and \u201cracist\u201d in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[80,154,10839,9,2695,56,63,65,64,10838,6341,10837,82],"class_list":["post-14623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-andrew-cuomo","tag-curtis-sliwa","tag-hasan-piker","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city-mayor","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-racist-attacks","tag-sid-rosenberg","tag-terrorist-attacks","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}