Attacks on President Donald Trump and former Governor Andrew Cuomo prevailed during a mayoral debate on Wednesday, as nine Democratic candidates vied for New Yorkers’ support ahead of the June 24 primary election.
Attending the first televised debate of the election season were City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, city Comptroller Brad Lander, state Senator Jessica Ramos, state Senator Zellnor Myrie, Cuomo, businessman Whitney Tilson, state Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, former state Assembly Member Michael Blake and former city Comptroller Scott Stringer.
The debate at times turned testy, as candidates and moderators tried to get Cuomo to admit to past mistakes. Within four minutes of the start, Lander mentioned his ire for Cuomo during his introductory remarks, which set the tone as other candidates followed suit during the two-hour debate. This, however, gave a lot of air time to the former governor, who remains ahead in recent polls, followed by Mamdani.
Moderators NBC New York Anchor David Ushery, NBC New York Government Affairs Reporter Melissa Russo, Telemundo 47 Anchor Rosarina Bretón and Senior New York Editor at POLITICO Sally Goldenberg asked the candidates about housing, how they would handle the Trump administration, subway safety, bail reform, education reforms and prior regrets, among other issues.
All of the candidates said they would stand up to Trump, but Cuomo delivered the best zinger against Mandani when he said "Donald Trump will go through Mamdani like a hot knife through butter."
“I am Donald Trump’s worst nightmare, as a progressive Muslim immigrant who actually fights for the things that I believe in and the difference between myself and Andrew Cuomo,” Mamdani said shortly after.
One notable moment was the lack of innovative ideas when candidates were asked how they would fix the New York City public school system, which currently spends about $40,000 per student per year, but has failed to lift reading and math scores when compared to national levels. Cuomo said he would look into curtailing the Department of Education's ability to hire consultants and would hire more paraprofessionals, while Tilson said there should be direct consequences for educators who fail to hit certain standards. Mamdani noted the need for students to have stable homes and access to food, while Myrie and Stringer said a robust after school program was needed. Lander and and Ramos said teachers needed more support.
All of the candidates also said they would keep or raise the number of police officers, if elected. This prompted Cuomo to ask why many of the candidates on stage had reversed their "Defund the Police" position.
The former governor was repeatedly asked about prior scandals, including his policy on nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic and his numerous sexual harassment lawsuits.
During the debate, Cuomo said his administration "did not lie" about the numbers of deaths that occurred in nursing homes, although he partially admitted to a lack of transparency about the issue in 2021. The New York Attorney General also issued a report in 2021 that said the Cuomo administration undercounted the deaths in nursing home by several thousand.
"We had it first and worst," Cuomo said, noting New York ranked 38th in nursing home deaths.
The Department of Justice is reportedly looking into opening a criminal investigation against Cuomo about the decision she made while governor during the pandemic.
Blake had some pointed remarks about the sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo.
“The people who don’t feel safe are the young women, mothers and grandmothers around Andrew Cuomo,” he said. “That’s the greatest threat to public safety in New York City.”
"A report was done four years ago making certain allegations. I said at the time that it was political and it was false. Five district attorneys looked at it...found absolutely nothing," Cuomo said. "One case has been resolved, I was dropped from that case. I said at the time, if I offended anyone it was unintentional, but I apologize, and I say that today."
Also eye-opening was when moderators asked the candidates to reveal what they regretted during their time in office.
When Cuomo replied that he regretted the Democratic Party allowing Trump to win, Speaker Adams voiced her ire.
“No regrets when it comes to slow-walking P.P.E. and vaccinations in the season of Covid to Black and brown communities?” Adams said. “Really, no regrets?"
Mamdani also lamented the state of the party. “As a Democrat, one of my regrets is having trusted the leaders within our own party, leaders like Andrew Cuomo,” he said.
Meanwhile, Speaker Adams said she regretted voting for current Mayor Eric Adams, who did not attend the debate as he is running on two independent ballot lines in the November general election.
