The post Curtis Sliwa vows to be Zohran Mamdani's 'worst nightmare' if the Democratic socialist wins NYC mayoral race appeared first on My Blog.
]]>After Mamdani admitted he would rank Sliwa second in the spin room following Wednesday’s debate, Fox News Digital asked Sliwa if he would be willing to collaborate with Mamdani and help his administration if the 34-year-old assemblyman is elected mayor in less than two weeks.
“The only thing I would do if, God forbid, Zohran Mandami was the choice of the people, and we will leave it up to them, is I will organize resistance because I will improve. I will not move. Zohran Mamdani could bet that I will be his worst nightmare,” Sliwa said.
Sliwa said that unlike former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent candidate after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani in June, the founder and CEO of the Guardian Angels, isn’t going anywhere.
TRADING BARBS FROM LIGHT-HEARTED TO VICIOUS, MAYORAL CANDIDATES MAKE FINAL APPEAL TO NEW YORKERS
Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani and Republican Curtis Sliwa have found unlikely common ground with less than two weeks until Election Day. (Fox News Digital/Getty)
“Because, unlike Andrew Cuomo with his billionaire friends in the Hamptons, who said, ‘Oh, if Zohran’s elected, I’m fleeing to Florida,’ I’m not going anywhere. I was born in New York. They tried to kill me in New York. I’ll die in New York. I’ll be buried in New York,” Sliwa confirmed.
TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM FIERY NYC MAYORAL DEBATE: ‘HE LITERALLY HAS NEVER HAD A JOB’
“If somehow Zohran Mandami is elected by the people, boy, he is gonna regret ever knowing the name of Curtis Sliwa because I’m gonna be on his case 24 hours a day,” Sliwa said.
Sliwa also compared Mamdani to Pinocchio, but instead of his nose growing, “his smile just gets bigger and bigger and bigger.”
“That’s how you know that Zohran Mamdani is telling another lie, another whopper, fantasy, rather than reality,” Sliwa said, referencing Mamdani’s near-constant smile.
When asked if Mamdani regretted his answer about ranking Sliwa second if the general election had ranked-choice voting, the Democratic socialist doubled down on his response.
Supporters for New York City Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa gathered outside LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City ahead of the final debate on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (Fox News Digital/Deirdre Heavey)
“I believe it’s important to rank those who actually love New York City, and there was only one other candidate on that stage who seems to love this city,” Mamdani said, in an apparent jab at Cuomo.
With less than two weeks until Election Day, Mamdani and Sliwa have landed on unlikely common ground by rejecting billionaire influence in the New York City mayoral election.
Two billionaires, Red Apple Media CEO John Catsimatidis and hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman, have called on Sliwa to drop out of the mayoral race in order to clear a pathway to victory for Cuomo.
“The billionaires can conspire to pick their candidate,” Sliwa said during a press conference in Manhattan on Monday. “I trust the people. They will make the decision. I will not drop out.”
Several blocks downtown at his own press conference Monday morning, Mamdani admitted his surprise at agreeing with Sliwa.
New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani answers reporter questions after the final debate on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, ahead of Election Day. (Fox News Digital/Deirdre Heavey)
“I never thought I would say this, but here we are, where the only candidates who agree that billionaires shouldn’t control the future of this city are the Republican nominee and the Democratic nominee,” Mamdani said.
A recent Fox News survey of the mayoral race, conducted Oct. 10–14, asked voters about their second-choice candidate. If both Adams and Sliwa are out, the results show Mamdani keeping a significant lead, even as support for Cuomo increases.
With Sliwa out, the poll found Mamdani would pick up 50% compared to 37% for Cuomo. But Sliwa has maintained for weeks that he has no intention of ending his mayoral campaign.
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New York City mayoral contenders relentlessly criticized their opponents as they made their final pitch to voters Wednesday night in the last debate at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City before early voting starts Saturday.
Election Day is coming up on Nov. 4, and with Mayor Eric Adams suspending his re-election campaign last month, New Yorkers are set to elect a new mayor to lead the city.
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
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]]>Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, Independent candidate and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa once again traded barbs on the debate stage, meeting for the second time in less than a week.
Wednesday’s debate at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City came as billionaires called for Sliwa to drop out of the mayoral race this week to consolidate support for Cuomo against Mamdani and as more than 650 rabbis nationwide, including those from the largest New York City synagogues, signed an open letter condemning Mamdani for what they said was anti-Israel rhetoric.
‘TIME FOR A CHANGE’: OUTSIDE 30 ROCK, NEW YORKERS TRADE CHANTS AND ARGUMENTS DURING TENSE MAYORAL SHOWDOWN
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa participate in the second New York City mayoral debate at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens, New York City, Oct. 22, 2025. (Hiroko Masuike/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Both issues were on full display Wednesday night as Mamdani fielded questions about his support for Israel. When asked if Mamdani has any regrets about his “longstanding” anti-Israel views, the democratic socialist affirmed his commitment to protecting Jewish New Yorkers.
TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM FIERY NYC MAYORAL DEBATE: ‘HE LITERALLY HAS NEVER HAD A JOB’
“You won’t denounce ‘globalize the intifada,’ which means, ‘Kill Jews.’ There’s unprecedented fear in New York. It was not several rabbis. It was 650 rabbis who signed the letter, not several,” Cuomo said. While Mamdani refused to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” during the primary, he has since said he would “discourage” others from using the slogan.
“I’ve heard from Jewish New Yorkers about their fears about antisemitism in this city, and what they deserve is a leader who takes it seriously, who roots it out of these five boroughs, not one who weaponizes it as a means by which to score political points on a debate stage,” Mamdani fired back in a fiery moment.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa participated in the second New York City mayoral debate at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens, on Oct. 22, 2025, in New York City. (Hiroko Masuike/Pool/Getty Images)
Sliwa also chimed in, telling Mamdani that Jewish New Yorkers are “frightened” and “scared.”
“They view you as the arsonist who fanned the flames of antisemitism,” Sliwa charged, accusing him of being in support of a “global jihad.” New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand issued an apology earlier this year for “mischaracterizing Mamdani’s record” when she made the same suggestion.
“I have never, not once, spoken in support of global jihad,” Mamdani said. “That is not something that I have said and that continues to be ascribed to me. And, frankly, I think much of it has to do with the fact that I am the first Muslim candidate to be on the precipice of winning this election.”
Moderators for the final New York City mayoral debate were Spectrum News NY1 Political Anchor Errol Louis, WNYC’s Brian Lehrer and The City’s Katie Honan.
The first question posed to candidates during Wednesday’s debate focused on the federal raid in New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood on Tuesday that led to the arrest of nine migrants from West Africa who were in the United States illegally, according to the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s supporters gathered outside LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City in New York City Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (Fox News Digital/Deirdre Heavey)
All three candidates agreed that the Trump administration was beyond its jurisdiction on Tuesday. Cuomo called the raid “dangerous.”
“You don’t send ICE in without coordinating with our police,” Cuomo said, arguing he would have personally called President Donald Trump if he was mayor to tell him the administration was “way out of bounds.” Sliwa agreed that the matter should have been left up to the NYPD.
Mamdani took the criticism a step further, calling ICE a “reckless entity that cares little for the law and even less for the people that they’re supposed to serve,” urging an “end to the chapter of collaboration between City Hall and the federal government, which we’ve seen under” Mayor Eric Adams. Adams is no longer seeking re-election after he built a reputation for his willingness to collaborate with the Trump administration on immigration reform.
At one point, candidates were allowed to ask their opponents a question, sparking a tense moment between Cuomo and Mamdani. Cuomo asked how Mamdani could pose for a photo with an anti-LGBTQ advocate. Mamdani said had he known, he wouldn’t have agreed to take the picture.
Mamdani clapped back, asking Cuomo, “What do you say to the 13 women that you sexually harassed?” Cuomo has continued to deny the allegations and said the cases were dropped.
The latest Fox News survey, conducted Oct. 10-14, ahead of the first general election debate last week, revealed that Mamdani has gained a substantial lead in the race because voters see him as the best candidate to tackle the city’s top problems.
According to the poll, Mamdani has a 21-point lead among New York City registered voters with 49% of voters backing Mamdani, while 28% go for Cuomo and 13% favor Sliwa. Mamdani also rose above the 50% threshold among likely voters, garnering 52% support, while Cuomo picked up 28%, and Sliwa received just 14%.
Supporters for New York City Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa gathered outside LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City ahead of the final debate Wednesday, Oct. 22. (Fox News Digital/Deirdre Heavey)
But as Mamdani, ever the social media-savvy candidate, warned his followers on Wednesday, it was Cuomo who was the favorite to win the nomination just weeks before the Democratic primary. By consolidating support with New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, cross-endorsing each other to topple Cuomo through ranked-choice voting, Mamdani pulled the political upset that has since landed him on the national stage.
Since winning the primary, Trump has labeled Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and “my little Communist.” Mamdani has rejected that moniker, affirming he is a democratic socialist.
Nevertheless, the odd-year election has captivated a national audience at a time when Democrats are still grappling with devastating losses last year. And with Trump back in the White House, Democrats nationwide are seeking to capitalize on growing discontent over his sweeping, second-term agenda.
Less than two hours before candidates took the stage Wednesday, The New York Times reported that Mamdani intends to keep New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica Tisch on as his police commissioner if elected in November, citing two senior campaign aides and two more sources who were briefed on the plans.
New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani answers reporter questions after the final debate on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, ahead of Election Day. (Fox News Digital/Deirdre Heavey)
“I can confirm that reporting,” Mamdani said on the debate stage. “My administration will be relentless in its pursuit of safety and affordability for every New Yorker, and the delivery of that will require us to put together a team of the best and the brightest.”
Mamdani applauded Tisch for taking on a “broken status quo charter to deliver accountability, rooting out corruption and reducing crime across the five boroughs.” Cuomo and Sliwa also confirmed they would keep her on as commissioner if elected.
The Democratic nominee has faced a slew of criticism on the campaign trial for his past comments, including calling the NYPD “racist, anti‑queer & a major threat to public safety” in 2020, among other insults. Mamdani made a public apology to the NYPD during a Fox News interview last week.
Ahead of those competitive midterm elections expected next year, Republicans have already seized on Mamdani’s progressive politics, including Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who is considering a run for governor. Her campaign said in a recent statement, “Kathy Hochul literally has endorsed a full blown jihadist pro-terrorism Mayor of New York City.”
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Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., endorsed Mamdani last month after previously withholding her support. Fellow New York Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have still yet to coalesce behind the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, although Jeffries indicated this week that a decision is imminent.
This week, Red Apple Media CEO John Catsimatidis and hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman urged Sliwa to drop out of the race, arguing that a vote for Sliwa is a vote for Mamdani. The New York Post editorial board even joined the calls for Sliwa to drop out, but the Republican nominee has maintained he is staying in the race.
Fox News’ Kirill Clark contributed to this report.
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
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]]>The post Top 5 moments from final New York City mayoral debate: ‘Knock him on his tuchas’ appeared first on My Blog.
]]>With just weeks until the election, socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani is highly favored to win. Despite this, the debate on Wednesday was every man for himself, with each candidate lobbing attacks and insults at one another.
Here are the top five moments from Wednesday night’s debate.
Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, who led the state as a Democratic governor from 2011 until he resigned amid controversy in 2021, took aim at Mamdani’s lack of leadership experience, predicting that President Donald Trump would make short work of him if he were elected mayor.
“[Trump] has said he’ll take over New York if he wins, and he will, because he has no respect for him. He thinks he’s a kid and he’s going to knock him on his tuchas,” said Cuomo.
‘TIME FOR A CHANGE’: OUTSIDE 30 ROCK, NEW YORKERS TRADE CHANTS AND ARGUMENTS DURING TENSE MAYORAL SHOWDOWN
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani and Curtis Sliwa participate in the second New York City mayoral debate at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens, on Oct. 22, 2025. (Hiroko Masuike/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Mamdani immediately shot back by calling Cuomo “Donald Trump’s puppet himself.”
“You could turn on the TV any day of the week, and you will hear Donald Trump share that his pick for mayor is Andrew Cuomo, and he wants Andrew Cuomo to be the mayor, not because it will be good for New Yorkers, but because it will be good for him,” said Mamdani.
Though far and away the dark horse candidate in the race, Republican Curtis Sliwa landed some of the hardest punches of the night. Early on in the debate, he fired at Cuomo’s controversial exit from office, saying, “Andrew, you didn’t leave. You fled from being impeached by the Democrats in the state legislature. You fled!”
Cuomo, meanwhile, reserved most of his ire for Mamdani. At another point in the debate, he addressed the 34-year-old socialist New York assembly member, saying, “You don’t know how to run a government, you don’t know how to handle an emergency, and you’ve literally never proposed the bill on anything that you’re not talking about in your campaign.”
“You had the worst attendance record in the assembly, and you gave yourself the highest raise in the United States of America,” he said, exclaiming, “Shame on you! Shame on you!”
MAMDANI RIPPED BY RIVALS FOR UNPOPULAR STANCE DURING FIERY NYC DEBATE: ‘YOU WON’T SUPPORT ISRAEL’
Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo participates in the New York City mayoral debate at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens, on Oct. 22, 2025. (Hiroko Masuike/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
In response, a grinning Mamdani said, “It is always a pleasure to hear Andrew Cuomo create his own facts at every debate stage.”
“We just had a former governor say in his own words that the city has been getting screwed by the state. Who was leading the state? It was you!” said Mamdani. “You were leading the state for 10 years, screwing the city!”
Cuomo immediately denied this accusation, blaming the current Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and saying, “That’s the past four years.”
Chaos erupted on the debate stage after Mamdani attempted to skirt around a question on whether he supports a set of housing ballot initiatives, with Cuomo, Sliwa and the moderators immediately pressing him to answer.
“What is your opinion, Zohran? Come on!” Sliwa shouted as Cuomo droned, “Yes or no?!”
Cuomo rocked back and forth with his hands, mocking Mamdani, saying, “It’s a TikTok dance,” producing the most meme-worthy moment of the night.
Andrew Cuomo taunts Zohran Mamdani with a dance during the last New York City mayoral debate on Oct. 22, 2025. (Spectrum News NY1)
“They’re pointing out what I was about to say. Would you please answer the question?” a moderator asked.
Mamdani continued to deflect, saying, “I think on this stage you can see two people appealing for the Republican Party votes and myself speaking directly to New York City.”
“Answer the question for once,” Cuomo continued prodding as Sliwa waved his arms and smacked his forehead with his palm.
“My question to you was, do you support the three ballot amendment questions?” the moderator pressed.
Mamdani finally answered, “I have not yet taken a position on those ballot initiatives,” as both Cuomo and Sliwa moaned in protest.
“What a shocker!” Cuomo teased. “Don’t worry, once he takes it, he’ll change it anyway.”
TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM FIERY NYC MAYORAL DEBATE: ‘HE LITERALLY HAS NEVER HAD A JOB’
Zohran Mamdani speaks during the debate at LaGuardia Community College in Queens on Oct. 22, 2025. (Hiroko Masuike/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Moderators and candidates alike pressed Mamdani on his controversial positions on Israel and rising fears among New York’s Jewish community.
Citing two sons who he said were raised Jewish, Sliwa said, “This issue is personal for me.”
“Let me speak on behalf of my two sons when they’ve heard some of the statements you’ve made, like in support of global jihad, and I hear some people out there saying, ‘the Jews that time is due,’ which means the same thing. They’re frightened; they’re scared. They view you as the arsonist who fanned the flames of antisemitism,” said Sliwa.
“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, a lot of apologizing to do,” Sliwa went on. “My sons are afraid. Their family, their friends, many in the Jewish community are concerned if you become mayor, because they don’t think when antisemitism rears its ugly head, which it’s now doing more than ever before, that you will have the ability to come in and put out those flames of hate.”
Mamdani shot back, “I think there is room for disagreement on many positions and many policies, but I also want to correct the record: I have never, not once, spoken in support of global jihad.”
“That is not something that I have said, and that continues to be ascribed to me. And frankly, I think much of it has to do with the fact that I am the first Muslim candidate to be on the precipice of winning this election,” Mamdani went on, adding, “All the same, Curtis, I do still want to be the mayor that will keep your sons safe, that will keep every single New Yorker safe.”
TRADING BARBS FROM LIGHT-HEARTED TO VICIOUS, MAYORAL CANDIDATES MAKE FINAL APPEAL TO NEW YORKERS
Thousands of demonstrators hold a pro-Palestinian rally in protest of Israel on Oct. 13, 2023, in Times Square, New York City. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Sparks flew when Cuomo and Mamdani were given free rein to question each other and, unsurprisingly, chose to press each other on their most controversial scandals.
Cuomo knocked Mamdani, who is an immigrant to the U.S. from Uganda, for being a “toxic” force in New York City, and pressed him for not advocating for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Uganda for its laws against homosexuality.
“You take a picture with Rebecca Kadaga, deputy prime minister of Uganda… She’s known as Rebecca ‘gay-killer’ Kadaga,” said Cuomo, asking, “How do you not renounce your citizenship, or demand BDS against Uganda for imprisoning people who are gay just by their sexual orientation, is that not a basic violation against human rights?”
Mamdani answered that “had I known that the first deputy minister was the architect of that legislation, I would not have taken that photo.”
In turn, Mamdani grilled Cuomo on 13 sexual harassment allegations filed against him while he was governor. Cuomo brushed this aside, saying, “The cases were dropped” and pressing further, “You have no problem with BDS against Israel, but no BDS against Uganda.”
Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani and Curtis Sliwa debate on Oct. 22, 2025. Millions of dollars are pouring into the mayoral election with less than two weeks to go until New Yorkers go to the polls. (Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
At another point in the debate, Mamdani attempted to turn the question of experience on Cuomo, saying, “The issue is that we have all experienced your experience.”
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“The issue is that we experienced you taking a $5 million book deal while you sent seniors to their deaths in nursing homes. The issue is that we experienced you cutting funding for the MTA to send money to upstate ski resorts. The issue is that we saw you give $959 million in tax breaks to Elon Musk. The issue is your experience,” said Mamdani.
“The issue is you have no experience,” insisted Cuomo, adding, “You’ve accomplished nothing.”
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
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