Socialist NYC mayoral favorite breaks into a sweat as rivals grill him on Jews, gays and

Zohran Mamdani broke out into a visible sweat during the contentious final debate in New York City‘s mayoral race as his rivals attacked him over his thin resume and personal scandals.

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo branded Mamdani a ‘divisive force in New York’ at Wednesday night’s debate as he highlighted the self-proclaimed socialist’s most controversial moments.

Cuomo suggested that Mamdani did not support NYC’s LGBTQ community because he was photographed alongside deputy prime minister of Uganda Rebecca Kadaga, who has earned the nickname ‘gay killer’.

He accused Mamdani of demonstrating ‘toxic energy’ towards Jewish New Yorkers, likely referring to the apparent anti-Israel phrases he has repeated, such as ‘globalize the intifada.’

Cuomo further slammed Mamdani for posting a photo with Muslim cleric Siraj Wahhaj, who prosecutors listed as an ‘unindicted co-conspirator’ in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

He also claimed Mamdani disrespected the Italian American community when he flipped off a statue of Christopher Columbus.

Mamdani, however, dismissed Cuomo’s attacks and claimed his politics were ‘consistent’ and built on a foundation of equal human rights for all.

The frontrunner accused Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa of being consumed by fighting, before suggesting he would try to focus instead on his vision for the city.

But his plan seemingly failed and Mamdani came under fire yet again after declining to take a position on a set of initiatives that will appear on the November ballot.

‘My main opponent has no new ideas. He has no new plan,’ Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani, said during the debate. 

Cuomo claimed that Mamdani has ‘never run anything, managed anything’ and ‘never had a real job’, insisting his opponent lacks the merit and qualifications to run the nation’s biggest city or handle its emergencies.

He also suggested Mamdani’s beliefs would create division across the city.

‘You have been a divisive force in New York, and I believe that’s toxic energy for New York,’ Cuomo said, before launching into a rant about the communities Mamdani has allegedly harmed.

‘It’s with the Jewish community. It’s with the Italian American community – when you give the Columbus statue the finger. It’s with the Sunni Muslims when you say decriminalize prostitution, which is Haram. It’s the Hindus.

‘Then, you take a picture with Rebecca Kadaga, deputy prime minister of Uganda. She’s known as Rebecca “Gay Killer,”‘ he continued.

Pointing to Mamdani’s Ugandan citizenship, Cuomo claimed that his opponent knew who Kadaga was, took the photo anyway and then lied about it.

Mamdani, however, accused Cuomo of attempting to ‘smear and slander’ so he can ‘distract from the fact that, unlike myself, you do not actually have a platform or a set of policies.’

He had said he planned to keep his focus on issues, like affordability, that have fueled his momentum and earned him national attention, but he still managed to launch a few scathing attacks of his own.

Mamdani directly made reference to the sexual harassment allegations that drove Cuomo from the gubernatorial office just four years ago. 

‘Mr Cuomo, in 2021, 13 different women who worked in your administration credibly accused you of sexual harassment. Since then, you have spent more than $20 million in taxpayer funds to defend yourself, all while describing these allegations as entirely political,’ he said. 

Mamdani said one of the women who had accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, his former aide Charlotte Bennett, was in the audience Wednesday. 

President Donald Trump used a similar strategy in 2016 when he appeared at a debate with accusers of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton’s husband, former president Bill Clinton, who has denied the accusations against him.

‘What do you say to the 13 women that you sexually harassed?’ he asked as he pressed Cuomo on the allegations and the millions in taxpayer dollars that were spent to defend him in court.

Cuomo denied wrongdoing and chided Mamdani: ‘If you want to be in government, then you have to be serious and mature,’ he said.

Sliwa accused both men of ‘fighting like kids in a school yard,’ but piled on as well.

‘Zohran, your resume could fit on a cocktail napkin. And, Andrew, your failures could fill a public school library in New York City,’ he quipped. 

He also made frequent references to Cuomo’s decision to resign as governor amid a barrage of sexual harassment allegations, which Cuomo denies.

While the race has often been dominated by questions about the Israel-Hamas war, Trump and other national subjects, the candidates Wednesday were peppered for specifics about crime, the subways and the notorious Rikers Island jail complex.

The candidates also railed against this week’s immigration enforcement sweep targeting vendors on Manhattan’s famed Canal Street that led to 14 arrests.

Cuomo said NYC does not need Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the city to handle quality-of-life crimes like dealing in counterfeit bags.

Mamdani similarly pledged to oppose federal interventions in the city, saying ‘ICE is a reckless entity that cares little for the law and even less for the people that they´re supposed to serve.’

The candidates were again pressed on Trump and insisted that they would be most adept at handling the mercurial President.

Cuomo spoke repeatedly about how he had held Trump at bay during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and said a Mamdani win would be a ‘dream’ for the President.

‘He has said he’ll take over New York if Mamdani wins, and he will! Because, he has no respect for him. He thinks he’s a kid and he’s going to kick him on his tuchus,’ Cuomo said.

Mamdani, meanwhile, tried to depict Cuomo as Trump’s ‘puppet’ and too aligned with the President.

‘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,’ Mamdani said.

Sliwa warned both were taking the wrong approach by antagonizing the president.

‘You can’t beat Trump,’ he said.

Mamdani also said as mayor he would ask New York City’s police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to remain in her post. 

Mamdani, who was deeply critical of the city’s police in the past, has been trying to moderate his most contentious positions.