{"id":366648,"date":"2026-10-07T07:38:06","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T07:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/366648\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T07:38:06","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T07:38:06","slug":"pete-davidson-takes-fresh-aim-at-zohran-mamdani-with-biting-critique-is-he-staten-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/366648\/","title":{"rendered":"Pete Davidson takes fresh aim at Zohran Mamdani with biting critique: ‘Is he Staten Island?’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pete Davidson questioned Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s affiliation with his beloved hometown of Staten Island.<\/p>\n

Davidson \u2014 a loud and proud local \u2014 wondered if the mayor had any connection to the borough during a recent sit-down with Variety<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cZohran Mamdani \u2026 is he Staten Island? I don\u2019t know,\u201d Davidson said. \u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s from Staten Island.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d comedian debated if Mamdani had \u201cStaten Island\u2019s heart,\u201d before admitting, \u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s Staten Island.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cI don\u2019t have a problem with the guy, but I definitely don\u2019t think he\u2019s Staten Island at all. Staten Island\u2019s the only red place in New York<\/a>, and it\u2019s violently red.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davidson, 32, explained, \u201cYou know, most of my family is, you know, on the red side. It\u2019s not that, like, storm the capital vibe. It\u2019s more just like, \u2018[Trump is] funny. Like, I don\u2019t care. I just need something different.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Pete Davidson took a dig at Mayor Zohran Mamdani, questioning his ties to Staten Island. Disney via Getty Images<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cLike, it\u2019s not like a racist, misogynistic sort of thing, it\u2019s just like \u2026 it\u2019s 1985 over there. You are not a real Staten Island politician unless you have a secret family and know one mobster.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would not trust you to run Staten Island,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Last week, Davidson pleaded with the New York City mayor<\/a> to make a few improvements around his neck of the woods during an appearance on \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have a problem with the guy, but I definitely don\u2019t think he\u2019s Staten Island at all,\u201d Davidson said of Mamdani. James Keivom for NY Post<\/p>\n

When Kimmel noted that Mamdani was his next guest, the talk show host asked if the \u201cKing of Staten Island\u201d star had any questions for the mayor.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, could he fix the \u201cf\u2014ing BQE, please?<\/a>\u201d Davidson said in a clip shared on the show\u2019s Instagram page.<\/a><\/p>\n

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 <\/a>and aging infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Davidson\u2019s request was immediately met with cheers and thunderous applause from the studio audience.<\/p>\n

Davidson recently pleaded with Mamdani to fix the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Jason Lowrie\/BFA.com\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

\u201cYou hit on something,\u201d Kimmel said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at that,\u201d Davidson said, gesturing toward the crowd before Kimmel noted, \u201cThat\u2019s the loudest response I\u2019ve ever gotten.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe BQE has been under construction since before I was born. And here\u2019s my problem with it,\u201d Davidson said. \u201cThey\u2019re never doing anything. Someone\u2019s just standing there eating a sandwich or on the phone, and there\u2019s all these cones around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani has pledged $4 billion to repair the city-owned sections of the BQE, with construction expected to begin in 2030. William Farrington for The NY Post<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cSo I don\u2019t know what mob front or whatever, who\u2019s getting money from whatever, but just fix it, please.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the end of Mamdani\u2019s appearance on the show, Kimmel presented the mayor with Davidson\u2019s question as promised.<\/p>\n

\u201cPete Davidson wants to know what\u2019s going on in the BQE,\u201d Kimmel said. \u201cHe says he drives by it and he sees nobody doing anything. He said it\u2019s been like since before he was born.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani responded by highlighting his office\u2019s BQE Central Project<\/a>, 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

\u201cWe\u2019re going to be putting a multibillion-dollar plan to actually repair the part the city owns,\u201d Mamdani said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhich is the part that is currently the most at risk and that\u2019s going to be proceeding over the next 10 years. Full safety. No diversion of traffic into local neighborhoods and actually bring it back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019re saying Pete\u2019s daughter will also be complaining about this,\u201d Kimmel joked as Mamdani and the audience laughed.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t