{"id":365968,"date":"2026-10-06T16:16:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T16:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/365968\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T16:16:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T16:16:14","slug":"pete-davidson-says-zohran-mamdani-isnt-a-real-staten-island-politician","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/365968\/","title":{"rendered":"Pete Davidson says Zohran Mamdani isn&#8217;t a real Staten Island politician"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">Pete Davidson questioned <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_entertainment_article_main-content_article-body_6_11920635\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/zohran-mamdani\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Mayor Zohran Mamdani&#8217;s<\/a> affiliation with his beloved hometown of Staten Island.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">Davidson \u2013 a loud and proud local \u2013 wondered if the mayor had any connection to the borough during a recent sit-down with <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_entertainment_article_main-content_article-body_6_11920636\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/shorts\/7uVY06MbF90\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Variety<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Zohran Mamdani &#8230; is he Staten Island? I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; Davidson said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think he&#8217;s from Staten Island.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_entertainment_article_main-content_article-body_6_11920637\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/pete-davidson-calls-out-nyc-mayor-zohran-mamdani-highway-mess\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">PETE DAVIDSON CALLS OUT NYC MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI OVER HIGHWAY MESS<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791303373_729_pete-davidson-zohran-mamdani.jpg\" alt=\"A split of Pete Davidson and Zohran Mamdani\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Pete Davidson called out New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani over long-delayed construction on a major highway. (Todd Owyoung\/NBC via Getty Images; Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The &#8220;<a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_entertainment_article_main-content_article-body_6_11920638\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/entertainment\/saturday-night-live\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Saturday Night Live<\/a>&#8221; comedian debated if Mamdani had &#8220;Staten Island&#8217;s heart,&#8221; before admitting, &#8220;I don&#8217;t think he&#8217;s Staten Island.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">He added, &#8220;I don&#8217;t have a problem with the guy, but I definitely don&#8217;t think he&#8217;s Staten Island at all. Staten Island&#8217;s the only red place in New York, and it&#8217;s violently red.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_entertainment_article_main-content_article-body_6_11920639\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/entertainment\/entertainment-quizzes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">PUT YOUR ENTERTAINMENT KNOWLEDGE TO THE TEST AND SEE HOW YOU SCORE<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Davidson, 32, explained, &#8220;You know, most of my family is, you know, on the red side. It&#8217;s not that, like, storm the capital vibe. It&#8217;s more just like, &#8216;[Trump is] funny. Like, I don&#8217;t care. I just need something different.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">He continued, &#8220;Like, it&#8217;s not like a racist, misogynistic sort of thing, it&#8217;s just like &#8230; it&#8217;s 1985 over there. You are not a real Staten Island politician unless you have a secret family and know one mobster.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791303374_127_pete-davidson-jimmy-kimmel.jpg\" alt=\"Pete Davidson and Jimmy Kimmel seated together on the set of Jimmy Kimmel Live!\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Pete Davidson appeared on &#8220;Jimmy Kimmel Live!&#8221; on Monday, Sept. 28, alongside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and musical guest TV on the Radio. (Disney via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;I would not trust you to run Staten Island,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Last week, Davidson pleaded with the New York City mayor to make a few improvements around his neck of the woods during an appearance on &#8220;Jimmy Kimmel Live!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">When Kimmel noted that Mamdani was his next guest, the talk show host asked if the &#8220;King of Staten Island&#8221; star had any questions for the mayor.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/newsletters?cmpid=fnfirstnl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">GET ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Yes, could he fix the &#8220;f&#8212;ing BQE, please?&#8221; Davidson said in a clip shared on the show&#8217;s <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_entertainment_article_main-content_article-body_6_11920641\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reels\/Dd4l2TKSmU-\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Instagram page.<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The BQE, short for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, is a major New York City highway that runs through Brooklyn and Queens and has long been criticized for traffic congestion and <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_entertainment_article_main-content_article-body_6_11920642\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/infrastructure-across-america\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">aging infrastructure<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Davidson&#8217;s request was immediately met with cheers and thunderous applause from the studio audience.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/snow-storm-new-york-city-mayor-zohran-mamdani.jpg\" alt=\"Zohran Mamdani speaking at a news conference in Morningside Heights.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was sworn into office in January. (Yuki Iwamura\/AP Photo)<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;You hit on something,&#8221; Kimmel said.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_entertainment_article_main-content_article-body_6_11920643\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/debra-messing-ditches-democrat-trump-backed-republican-sounds-alarm-new-york\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">DEBRA MESSING DITCHES DEMOCRAT FOR TRUMP-BACKED REPUBLICAN AS SHE SOUNDS ALARM OVER NEW YORK<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Look at that,&#8221; Davidson said, gesturing toward the crowd before Kimmel noted, &#8220;That&#8217;s the loudest response I&#8217;ve ever gotten.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;The BQE has been under construction since before I was born. And here\u2019s my problem with it,&#8221; Davidson said. &#8220;They\u2019re never doing anything. Someone\u2019s just standing there eating a sandwich or on the phone, and there\u2019s all these cones around.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">He added, &#8220;So I don&#8217;t know what mob front or whatever, who&#8217;s getting money from whatever, but just fix it, please.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">At the end of <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_entertainment_article_main-content_article-body_6_11920644\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/mamdani-deflects-kimmel-anti-trump-bait-pressed-repeatedly-relationship-president\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Mamdani&#8217;s appearance on the show<\/a>, Kimmel presented the mayor with Davidson&#8217;s question as promised.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Pete Davidson wants to know what&#8217;s going on in the BQE,&#8221; Kimmel said. &#8220;He says he drives by it and he sees nobody doing anything. He said it&#8217;s been like since before he was born.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/pete.jpg\" alt=\"pete davidson sitting on a couch and looking to the side\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Pete Davidson found fame on &#8220;Saturday Night Live.&#8221; (Heidi Gutman\/Peacock via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Mamdani responded by highlighting his office\u2019s BQE Central Project, a $4 billion plan to rehabilitate the city-owned section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street, with construction expected to begin in 2030.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_entertainment_article_main-content_article-body_6_11920645\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">LIKE WHAT YOU&#8217;RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;We&#8217;re going to be putting a multibillion-dollar plan to actually repair the part the city owns,&#8221; Mamdani said. &#8220;Which is the part that is currently the most at risk and that&#8217;s going to be proceeding over the next 10 years. Full safety. No diversion of traffic into local neighborhoods and actually bring it back.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;So you\u2019re saying Pete\u2019s daughter will also be complaining about this,&#8221; Kimmel joked as Mamdani and the audience laughed.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Fox News Digital&#8217;s Ashley Hume contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<p>Tracy Wright is an entertainment reporter for Fox News Digital. Send story tips to Tracy.Wright@fox.com.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Pete Davidson questioned Mayor Zohran Mamdani&#8217;s affiliation with his beloved&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365969,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[157,9,24,63,2039,134,136,135,1869],"class_list":["post-365968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-entertainment","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-saturday-night-live","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365968","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=365968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365968\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}