The first mayoral general election debate of 2025 on Thursday night saw Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Andrew Cuomo trade ferocious blows, while Curtis Sliwa assailed them both in between complaints of being “marginalized” on the debate stage.
The three-way scrum over the course of two hours was defined by repeated entanglements between Mamdani, the Queens Assembly member and Democratic nominee, and Cuomo, the former governor who lost the Democratic primary and is now running as an independent.
Sliwa, the Republican nominee, was literally caught between both and, at times, went after either or both candidates; he occasionally muscled his way into the conversation when moderators attempted to get Cuomo or Mamdani to rebut the other’s accusations.
Agreement was scarce throughout the hard-hitting affair, as to be expected with less than three weeks remaining before the Nov. 4 election. The three candidates hit each other over their experience on the job, dealing with President Trump, stances on the Israel-Hamas war, and many other issues.
Often, the attacks between Mamdani and Cuomo turned personal.
Cuomo slammed Mamdani over his lack of executive experience, criticisms of Israel, and his stance on policing, all in an attempt to land a blow that could help him catch up to the Democratic nominee.
The former governor further accused the 33-year-old Mamdani of never holding a “real job” before winning election to the New York State Assembly in 2020. He charged Mamdani would not be prepared to handle the responsibility of managing the city’s $115 billion budget, overseeing 300,000 municipal employees, or dealing with extreme crises such as the Sept. 11 2001 terror attack.
“He literally has never had a job,” Cuomo said, referring to Mamdani. “This is not a job for a first-timer.”
In response, Mamdani touted his lived experience growing up in the city and made a pointed remark about Cuomo’s handling of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes and the sexual harassment allegations, both scandals that preceeded his resignation from office. Cuomo strongly denies those allegations.
“What I don’t have in experience, I make up for with integrity,” Mamdani said.
“And what you don’t have in integrity you could never make up for with experience,” he added, addressing Cuomo.
Cuomo’s attacks come as he is running out of time to narrow Mamdani’s lead, as the state lawmaker still holds a double-digit advantage over him. Even though Cuomo gained 10 percentage points in a Quinnipiac poll following current Mayor Eric Adams’ departure from the race, he is still behind Mamdani by 13 points.
Sliwa, the talk-radio host and Guardian Angels founder, who also faced questions over his lack of experience, blasted both Mamdani and Cuomo over their time in office, describing the pair as the “architect and the apprentice” of policies such as the 2019 reforms to cash-bail, which Sliwa blamed for a rise in crime across the city.
“Thank God I’m not a professional politician,” Sliwa said.
Cuomo, Sliwa question Mamdani’s Middle East statements
Cuomo also went after Mamdani over his sharp criticism of the Israeli government and pro-Palestinian advocacy.
He charged that Mamdani would not condemn Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, and took issue with the Assembly member for saying that Israel has the right to exist as a state with “equal rights” between Jewish Israelis and Palestinians, rather than as a Jewish state.
“If you notice, the assemblyman still won’t say he believes that Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state,” Cuomo said. “He is a divisive personality.”
Mamdani responded, “I’ve said time and again that I recognize Israel’s right to exist. I’ve said that I will not recognize any state’s right to exist with a system of hierarchy on the basis of race or religion.”
Mamdani, who would be the city’s first Muslim mayor, then turned the tables on Cuomo, claiming that it took him winning the Democratic primary for Cuomo to “set foot in a mosque.”
“They (Muslims) want equality, and they want respect. And it took me to get you to even see those Muslims as part of this city — and that, frankly, is something that is shameful,” Mamdani said.
Sliwa, meanwhile, alleged that Jewish residents “do not trust” Mamdani to keep them safe from antisemitic attacks.
Mamdani responded that he would be a mayor who represents “every single person” who calls New York City home and said he was “so thankful” to hear the concerns and opinions of Jewish voters during his campaign. He has spent much his time since the primary meeting with and trying to win over voters who have been skeptical of his candidacy, including pro-Israel Jewish leaders.
Dealing with Trump
All three candidates stated that they would resist the possibility of Trump attempting to deploy the National Guard into the city, with Cuomo declaring that he would make the president “back down,” as he insised he did as governor. That answer prompted a rebuttal from Sliwa, who chided the former Governor for soundly losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani in June.
“The president is going to back down to you? I know you think you’re the toughest guy alive, but you lost your own primary,” Sliwa said.
Cuomo said he would get involved in “ugly” battles with the president and pledged to fight Trump “every step of the way” if he attacked New York City, referencing his prior tussles with Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If you come after New York, you know what I’m going to do. You know it’s going to be ugly,” Cuomo said.
Mamdani said he agrees with Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, whom he is considering keeping on if he wins the election, that New York does not need the National Guard.
He said he would seek to work with Trump to help lower the cost of living for New Yorkers, but otherwise strongly criticized the president for overseeing the alleged political prosecution of his enemies as well as the “largest deportation campaign in American history.” He vowed to offer heavy resistance if the president attempted to carry out his immigration policies if he were elected mayor.
“If he ever wants to come for New Yorkers in the way that he has been, he’s going to have to get through me as the next mayor of the city,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani also accused Cuomo of asking Trump for help in the ongoing mayoral election, which the former governor strongly denied, stating that he last spoke to the President in July 2024 following a failed assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.
“What distinguishes me from Andrew Cuomo is the fact that he has gotten on the phone with that same president… asking him how to win this race,” Mamdani said. “That’s something I can do myself.”
Cuomo shot back by warning that Trump would target New York City if Mamdani is elected.
“If the Assemblyman is elected mayor, Donald Trump will take over New York City, and it will be Mayor Trump,” Cuomo said.
Sliwa, on the other hand, said he would negotiate with the president, referencing the recent freezing of $18 billion of federal funding designated for the Second Avenue Subway and the Hudson River Gateway tunnel project. Sliwa said he would be willing to relinquish the Second Avenue Subway expansion in East Harlem in order to secure funding for the Hudson River tunnel project.
“You can be tough, but you can’t be tough if it’s going to cost people desperately needed federal funds,” Sliwa said.
The debate was co-hosted by NBC News 4, Telemundo 47, and Politico. The second and final mayoral general election debate is on Wednesday night, Oct. 22, on NY1 News.
Early voting begins in a little over a week on Saturday, Oct. 25, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 2. Election Day is on Nov. 4.
