Andrew Cuomo and Zoran Mamdani opened the New York City mayoral debate on Thursday by saying a future headline about their first year in office would celebrate lower costs for New Yorkers.
The next 50 minutes of the debate, which aired on NBC New York and Telemundo New York in partnership with Politico, turned into an all-out brawl over issues including crime, the war in Gaza and President Donald Trump, with the candidates pitting themselves against each other on deeply personal lines.
Amid debate over which candidate has the experience for the job, Mamdani, the state legislator, criticized Cuomo, the former governor, for his handling of nursing homes during the Covid pandemic. Cuomo, who resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment that he denies, just said the mayor's job is “not suited to on-the-job training.”
Mamdani said: “What I lack in experience, I will make up for in honesty. And what you lack in honesty, you can never make up for in experience.”
Mamdani, the Democratic candidate, and Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary in June, were joined on stage by Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. The three argued about how to handle the police department and mental health calls, the education system, taxes and the business climate in New York.
Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, enters the election race with command leadershipAlthough Cuomo closed some positions as Mayor Eric Adams dropped out of the competition.
Trump tried to influence the outcome of the race and has repeatedly threatened withhold federal funding to New York if Mamdani wins the contest next month. And the president's influence in New York was a central theme of the debate.
Each candidate was asked the last time they spoke to Trump, with Cuomo saying he believed it was after the attempt on Trump's life in Pennsylvania last year. Sliwa said it had been many years, and Mamdani said he had never spoken to Trump.
But Mamdani expressed a willingness to work with Trump to reduce costs – before he attacked Cuomo over reports that he discussed the race with Trump.
“I don't need the president's help,” Mamdani said. “And I would tell the president that if he ever wants to support New Yorkers the way he has, he's going to have to go through me as the next mayor of the city.”
Cuomo said he had never had that conversation with Trump and recounted past “bloody battles” with him during Covid.
“I would like to avoid them,” Cuomo said.
After the debate, NBC News asked Mamdani what he would say to New Yorkers concerned that Trump will follow through on threats to punish the city by withholding additional federal funding if the state legislator wins next month.
“I think what we see now is Donald Trump making threats every day he wakes up,” Mamdani said. “He is threatening to withhold funding to the city, such as $18 billion in infrastructure grants that he has already received, threatening to withhold over $50 million because we refuse to turn away our trans students, or $80 million because we truly want to take care of every person in the city, regardless of their status. I would actually fight each of these threats rather than address them.” them as a law, because they proceed from his mouth.”
He pointed to legal battles in California, saying that “for every dollar spent on legal fees, they received over $30,000 in federal funds that would have been taken away from them.”
Cuomo, reached by NBC News moments earlier, was persistent when asked whether the president would continue his threats no matter who wins next month.
“No,” Cuomo said. “No!”
During the debate, Mamdani also attacked Cuomo for not taking a strong enough stance in defending state Attorney General Letitia James, who was recently indicted on federal charges after Trump called for her prosecution.
“I said weaponizing the justice system for political gain is wrong,” Cuomo said. “Both sides do it. It's wrong when Donald Trump does it. It's wrong when they did it to [James] Komi. It's wrong for Comey to do this to Hillary Clinton.
Sliwa chimed in and said New Yorkers would suffer if Cuomo or Mamdani stood up to Trump.
“Look, you can be tough, but you can’t be tough if it costs people desperately needed federal funds,” Sliwa said. “Zohran Mamdani, the president has already said that from the very beginning he will take $7 billion from the budget if you are elected mayor. People will suffer in this city, people who need these federal funds. I would just sit and negotiate.”
While Sliwa sought debate opportunities, Mamdani and Cuomo were the main event, often ignoring his ridicule except when he agreed when he attacked the other candidate.
Democratic disagreements
Meanwhile, Mamdani and Cuomo also argued over who is the real Democrat. Mamdani said voters who believe there is no difference between the Democratic and Republican parties should vote for Cuomo, while voters who want the mayor to stand up to Trump and his donors should support him.
Cuomo then said Mamdani was not a Democrat, focusing on his membership in the Democratic Socialists of America, and accused him of not voting for Kamala Harris last fall. (Mamdani said voters should leave their presidential primary ballots blank if they disagree with then-President Joe Biden's handling of the Gaza war.)
“If you want to find me on the ballot, you'll find me as a Democrat,” Mamdani said.
The war in Gaza has taken up much of the debate. Mamdani accused Israel of committing “genocide” and in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday he refused to say whether Hamas should give up its weapons after the recent ceasefire agreement.
“Of course I think they should lay down their arms. I'm proud to be one of the first elected officials in the state to call for a ceasefire, and calling for a ceasefire means a ceasefire,” he said. “This means that all parties must cease fire and lay down their arms.
“And the reason we are calling for this is not only to stop genocide, but also to ensure unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance,” Mamdani said. “I, like many New Yorkers, hope that this ceasefire will hold.”
Cuomo responded that Mamdani refused to “condemn Hamas,” and separately said that in his response he spoke in “code” — and that code signaled that Israel “has no right to exist as a Jewish state.” Mamdani responded that Cuomo acted as “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's legal defense team during this genocide.”
He added that conversations with New York Jews led him to stop using the phrase “globalizing the intifada,” a phrase he said he does not use.
“And what I want to do as the first Muslim mayor of this city is to ensure that we unite all New Yorkers, the Jews of New York, the Muslims of New York, every person who calls the city home. They understand that they will not only be protected, but they will belong,” he said.
Cuomo criticized Mamdani for not explicitly condemning the phrase.
“He is divisive on all fronts,” Cuomo said.
Fighting crime and costs
On crime, Mamdani said he has spoken with police officers to apologize for past anti-police remarks and said he does not support those ideas, attacking Cuomo for not focusing on his actual plans. Cuomo said Mamdani “doesn't like the police” and “that's why he won't hire more cops.”
“When everyone else is saying we need more police,” Cuomo said, “he wants to use social workers to make domestic violence calls, which is very dangerous, and he told you what he thinks. He thinks the police are racist, evil, corrupt and a threat to public safety.”
Mamdani said that as a state legislator, he learned “that delivering justice also means delivering safety, and that means leading a city where you recognize the bravery of the men and women who join the NYPD and put their lives on the line.”
“This means representing Muslims who have been illegally targeted in my district, as well as Black and Brown New Yorkers who have been victims of police brutality,” he said.
The second half of the debate featured more discussion about the cost of living and affordability. Each candidate was asked how much they paid for groceries and rent: $2,300 for Mamdani, $3,900 for Plum and $7,800 for Cuomo.
Cuomo has been sharply critical of Mamdani's plans for affordable housing and free bus service, while he also spoke about his own experiences as governor and secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Mamdani said, “I just have to say this debate lasted an hour and 20 minutes and we didn't hear Governor Cuomo utter the word 'affordability.' That's why he lost the primaries.”
Mamdani criticized Cuomo for supporting billionaire hedge fund executive Bill Ackman, to which Cuomo said: “A lot of New Yorkers support me, and a lot of Jewish New Yorkers support me because they think you're anti-Semitic.
“So it’s not about Trump or the Republicans,” Cuomo said. “It's about you.”
The two candidates did have one thing in common when asked to name the best mayor of New York City ever. Both shouted Fiorello LaGuardia.
“We agree,” Mamdani said.
