The candidates for New York City mayor met Wednesday night time for the second general election debate in a race that’s delivered high drama by means of its closing weeks.
Democrat Zohran Mamdani clashed with impartial Andrew Cuomo from the first moments: Cuomo known as Mamdani divisive and mentioned he lacked expertise or new concepts, whereas Mamdani mentioned the former governor, down in the polls, was a “desperate man lashing out.”
Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, in the meantime, reprised his wildcard function as he refuses to bow to a stress marketing campaign from some Republicans to depart the race. Despite not profitable President Donald Trump’s endorsement – and being mocked at occasions by the Queens-born president – Sliwa mentioned he would work with Trump to guard the metropolis’s pursuits.
Here are key moments from the debate:
The three candidates speak about ICE and Trump
Immigration raids in New York City emerged as a flashpoint early in the debate, as all three candidates rejected the federal crackdown and argued over who was finest in a position to cope with President Trump.
Cuomo mentioned that “we don’t need ICE to do quality of life crimes,” after 9 folks in the nation illegally have been arrested throughout a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on Chinatown’s Canal Street in Manhattan Tuesday. Mamdani argued the company “cares little for the law and even less for the people that they’re supposed to serve.” And Sliwa agreed that “the feds should not have stepped into this situation.”
But the candidates diverged sharply on how they’d strategy Trump. Cuomo mentioned that “you’re going to have to confront” him whereas Sliwa advised that “you can’t beat Trump, he holds most of the cards,” saying that “you have to try to negotiate.”
Mamdani, in the meantime, mentioned that he was open to working with Trump on decreasing the value of dwelling however pivoted to attacking Cuomo, saying that Trump “wants Andrew Cuomo to be the mayor, not because it will be good for New Yorkers, but because it will be good for him.”
Cuomo shot again that Trump would make the most of Mamdani’s youth and inexperience to press his crackdown on the metropolis.
“Donald Trump, I believe, wants Mamdani. That is his dream, because he will use him politically all across the country, and he will take over New York City. Make no mistake, it will be President Trump and Mayor Trump, and he will come in and take over the city,” Cuomo mentioned.
Then he labored in a little bit of Yiddish.
“He has no respect for him,” Cuomo mentioned. “He thinks he’s a kid and he’s going to knock him on his tuchus.”
Cuomo began off attacking Mamdani by making an attempt to attach him to former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who Mamdani has mentioned he admires and with whom Cuomo battled when both men were in office.
In current weeks, Cuomo has referred to Mamdani as “de Blasio lite” and “de Blasio 2.0.”
De Blasio, who has endorsed Mamdani, directed the City’s Rent Guidelines Board, which regulates rent-stabilized residences, to freeze rents during the pandemic. Mamdani has modeled his proposal after that effort, however landlords have mentioned the transfer unfairly targets them and would disincentivize upkeep and new development.
“Zohran is a great actor; he missed his calling,” Cuomo mentioned. “‘Freeze the rent’ sounds great, it’s not a new idea, Bill de Blasio did it. It turned out to be a debacle.”
During the debate, he mentioned Mamdani’s plan to freeze will increase in rent-controlled residences was “a canard and just a great three-word slogan for TikTok.”
For months, Mamdani has mentioned he would take into account preserving New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch if elected however has stopped wanting committing to asking her to remain on.
That modified Wednesday. Just earlier than the debate started, two folks conversant in the plan confirmed to NCS that Mamdani intends to ask Tisch to remain on the job if he’s elected mayor.
Mamdani’s resolution, first reported by The New York Times, alerts his try and reasonable as the general election nears and he continues to face criticism, particularly on his earlier critiques of the police.
“I can confirm that reporting,” Mamdani mentioned on the debate stage.
Mamdani has walked again earlier calls to defund the police and has apologized to officers for referring to them as “racist” and “wicked” in social media posts.
But it’s not clear if Tisch, who is extremely regarded in the metropolis’s political circles, would keep on even when requested.