Cuomo strikes at Mamdani while Sliwa goes on the attack in fiery NYC mayoral debate

The three major candidates for New York City’s mayor’s office debated each other on Thursday in a heated exchange that lasted two hours and covered many of the most important issues plaguing the Big Apple.

Former Democrat New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent, hammered away at Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdami as an extremist who is unprepared and inexperienced, while Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa came at both from the right and tried to claw away more time and attention.

‘I try to avoid yellow cabs; as you know, I was shot in the back of a yellow cab in 1992 by the Gottis and Gambinos. But I find my way around. If I have to, I Uber.’

President Donald Trump became a pivotal figure in the debate that differentiated the positions of the three candidates. When asked how they would deal with the president’s threats to pull funding from the city, Sliwa said he would negotiate with Trump, while Cuomo said he would oppose Trump and Mamdani accused him of not fighting enough.

Sliwa, who gained fame as the head of the Guardian Angels, ripped into both of his opponents for going easy on crime and had one anecdote that stunned debate-watchers. When the candidates were asked which form of transportation they chose apart from the subway, Mamdani said a bicycle, Cuomo responded that he called a taxi, and Sliwa said he was shot by the mafia.

“I try to avoid yellow cabs; as you know, I was shot in the back of a yellow cab in 1992 by the Gottis and Gambinos,” he said. “But I find my way around. If I have to, I Uber, if i can’t get there by mass transit.”

Mamdani advocated for free bus fare on the basis that it would reduce attacks on bus drivers.

Crime was a big issue in the debate, and Sliwa made it clear that he was endorsing pro-law-enforcement policies, in contrast to Cuomo and Mamdani. Cuomo accused Mamdani of endorsing police-defunding policies and calling cops “racist,” while Mamdani distanced himself from his old statements and instead took a shot at Cuomo, claiming he sent “seniors to their death in nursing homes” as governor in 2020.

Mamdani advocated for mental health workers to respond to mental illness calls rather than police, to which Sliwa objected vehemently.

RELATED: Zohran Mamdani casually says he would support the abolition of property in resurfaced video

Photo by Angelina Katsanis-Pool/Getty Images

Mamdani tried to position himself as a solution to the broken system in New York City politics.

“I have the experience of having served in the New York State Assembly for five years and watching a broken political system,” he said, “the experience of seeing a governor in Andrew Cuomo who would rather have served his billionaire donors than the working-class New Yorkers who voted for him.”

Cuomo accused Mamdani of wanting to legalize prostitution, which Mamdani denied, after which Sliwa accused both of trying to decriminalize prostitution.

Sliwa was clearly frustrated that the moderators were far more interested in giving time to Mamdani and Cuomo, and he interrupted to get more time in the limelight.

He also proposed the cessation of taxes for older Americans under a certain income level as a part of his “improve, not move” policy solutions.

On immigration, Sliwa took a moderate position that claimed that America needs hard workers while also saying that illegal aliens need to be deported. Mamdani was predictably angry about federal immigration operations and said he would oppose them.

When the question came to the economy, Cuomo hammered away at Mamdani’s socialist policies and tried to make himself appear as friendly to capitalism as possible. Sliwa said that toothpaste shouldn’t be locked up, but that criminals should be locked up.

Ultimately, each candidate was disciplined enough to do what he needed to do — Cuomo attacked Mamdani’s extremism, Mamdani tried to appear as reasonable as possible, and Sliwa tried to get as much attention as possible.

RELATED: Rolling Stone is getting crushed online for trying to whitewash controversies around Zohran Mamdani

Photo by Angelina Katsanis-Pool/Getty Images

The entire debate can be viewed on the YouTube channel of WNBC-TV.

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani posted his endorsement after the debate on social media.

“Curtis Sliwa is a New Yorker through and through. He knows this city — and its neighborhoods — better than almost anyone alive. If New Yorkers pay attention and wake up, they’ll elect this good man as their next mayor. He has my total and complete endorsement,” he wrote.

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