New York’s three mayoral candidates faced off Thursday night in their first general election debate, clashing over crime, affordable housing and Israel.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
New York City voters will soon choose a new mayor. Three candidates debated last night, including leaders, state legislator Zohran Mamdani and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Their exchanges included this.
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ANDREW CUOMO: He literally never had a job. On his CV, it is indicated that he did an internship for his mother. This is not a job for a beginner.
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: What I don’t have in experience, I make up for in integrity. And what you don’t have in integrity, you can never make up for in experience.
INSKEEP: NPR’s Brian Mann was watching. Brian, hello.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Hello, Steve.
INSKEEP: An honest and experienced reporter, we will just note that.
MANN: (Laughs).
INSKEEP: What was the context of this exchange?
MANN: Well, the huge generation gap in the Democratic Party was on full display, Steve. Mamdani, of course, the rising star, the newcomer. And he led that race by double digits. Cuomo, 67, is running as an independent. He lost the Democratic primary. Of course, he resigned in scandal in 2021. He is now trying to organize this return. These guys don’t like each other and things got violent last night.
INSKEEP: It got a lot of national attention. Leila interviewed Mamdani on this show. People are following this closely. He’s a star on Fox News, it should be noted. And one of the many things they talked about was the war between Israel and Hamas. Why is this so important in a mayoral race?
MANN: Yes, well, New York is home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel. And Mamdani, who is Muslim, has been outspoken, calling for Palestinian rights and criticizing Israel’s war in Gaza. This was one of Cuomo’s lines of attack. Here he is talking to Mamdani.
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CUOMO: There are a lot of New York Jews who support me because they think you’re anti-Semitic.
MANN: And here comes Mamdani fighting back.
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MAMDANI: I have denounced Hamas on numerous occasions. And that will never be enough for Andrew Cuomo, because what he is willing to say, even if he is not on this stage, is to call me, the first Muslim about to run this city, a terrorist sympathizer.
MANN: And Mamdani did a lot of outreach to the city’s Jewish leaders. He got some key mentions. So far, Steve, this tension hasn’t seemed to slow his momentum.
INSKEEP: And Donald Trump was also an important figure in this, a former New Yorker.
MANN: Yeah, he’s a big player in this area. He has repeatedly intervened in city politics since returning to office, threatening to cancel major federal projects, including the $16 billion Hudson River Tunnel. He lambasted Mamdani on social media, falsely describing him as a communist. And in fact, one of Mamdani’s lines of attack against Cuomo last night was his assertion that the former governor was too friendly with Trump. Cuomo responded by saying he would try to avoid battles with Trump.
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CUOMO: I would love to work with you. I think we can do good things together. But I will fight every step of the way if you try to hurt New York.
MANN: Interesting thing, Steve. Last night, these three candidates, including Republican Curtis Sliwa, opposed two of Trump’s major policies. They called on ICE agents to stop arresting migrants who don’t have criminal records. And they agreed that there was no need to deploy National Guard troops on the streets of New York.
INSKEEP: How important was this third candidate, Curtis Sliwa, the Republican,?
MANN: Yeah, Sliwa was a big deal last night for a reason. His presence on that stage made it harder for Cuomo to stay connected to Mamdani. Sliwa continued to attack Cuomo.
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CURTIS SLIWA: You think you’re the toughest guy in the world. You lost your own primary, didn’t you? You have been rejected by your Democrats.
MANN: And again, Cuomo faced a lot of criticism last night over this sexual misconduct scandal that forced him to resign. He again denied any wrongdoing.
INSKEEP: Big debate last night. A little over two weeks ago. NPR’s Brian Mann is tracking it all. Brian, thank you very much.
MANN: Thanks, Steve.
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