Cuomo invokes fears of Mamdani’s Muslim faith in final days of NYC mayoral race

By Gloria Pazmino, CNN

New York (CNN) — Andrew Cuomo kept up a late-campaign effort to raise fears about the Muslim faith of Zohran Mamdani, the front-runner in the New York City mayoral race, even laughing Thursday at the suggestion that Mamdani would cheer a terror attack like 9/11 were it to happen again.

Cuomo, the former New York governor running an independent bid after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary, chuckled as radio host Sid Rosenberg, who has previously called Mamdani an “animal” and a “jihadist,” closed out a segment by calling Mamdani a “terrorist.”

“God forbid, another 9/11. Can you imagine Mamdani in the seat?” Cuomo posited.

“He’d be cheering,” Rosenberg responded.

Cuomo paused and laughed along, adding, “That’s another problem.”

The comments, made just days before New Yorkers cast their ballots, was the latest invocation by Cuomo of Mamdani’s Muslim faith and background.

In the last days before the November 4 general election, Cuomo has repeatedly focused on Mamdani’s religion, arguing he was betraying Islam by supporting the decriminalization of sex work while also suggesting that Mamdani would betray New York City on matters of public safety and terrorism as he appeals to moderates and conservatives as well as Jewish voters concerned about Mamdani’s criticism of Israel.

Asked if he believed Cuomo was making Islamophobic statements against him, Mamdani replied with “yes.”

“We’re speaking about a former governor who, in his final moments in public life, is engaging in rhetoric that is not only Islamophobic, not only racist, it’s also disgusting,” Mamdani told reporters Thursday. “Andrew Cuomo’s message is to smear and slander the first Muslim candidate on the verge of leading this city where 1 in 8 New Yorkers are Muslim and say that by virtue of your faith you are worthy of suspicion.”

Among the Democrats who ripped Cuomo’s comments was US Rep. Ritchie Torres, who has been a sharp critic of Mamdani.

“It should be possible to critique a candidate’s ideas without demonizing the candidate himself,” Torres wrote on X. “To insinuate that a mayoral candidate would celebrate a second 9/11 is beyond disgusting and disgraceful. We all have a responsibility to lower the temperature and to restore a measure of civility to our public discourse.”

In one mayoral debate, Cuomo tore into Mamdani, who is a Shia Muslim, by referencing Sunni Muslims and saying Mamdani had ideas that were “haram,” or forbidden. The Shia-Sunni split dates nearly to the founding of Islam and has often animated religious and political tensions among Muslims.

“To Zohran, I believe you have been a divisive force in New York, and I believe that’s toxic energy for New York,” Cuomo said. “It’s with the Sunni Muslims when you say decriminalize prostitution, which is haram.”

Standing next to Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday hours after his radio interview, Cuomo nodded as Adams appeared to suggest Mamdani’s election would usher in Islamic extremism to New York.

“New York can’t be Europe, folks,” Adams said “You see what’s playing out in other countries because of Islamic extremism, not Muslims. Let’s not mix this up.”

During Wednesday night’s debate, the Cuomo campaign posted and then quickly deleted an AI-generated video to social media, showing a fake version of Mamdani using his hands to shove rice into his mouth as a voiceover warned about Mamdani’s “radical” ideas.

“The video was a proposal that wasn’t approved, wasn’t finished and didn’t go through the normal legal process,” Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said. “It was posted for five minutes before it was taken down.”

And during the Democratic primary campaign, an anti-Mamdani super PAC that raised millions for Cuomo ran television ads that described Mamdani as “dangerous” by exclusively using footage of him wearing traditional South Asian clothing. Mamdani usually wears a suit when campaigning. Mamdani also accused Cuomo of sending mailers to voters which showed him with a darkened beard.

Zara Rahim, a senior adviser on Mamdani’s campaign, said Cuomo was “trying to define what being Muslim should look like.”

“He has only tried to court Muslim people by saying look at this bad Muslim – that is a desperate tactic from a man who has nothing to say to Muslim people,” Rahim said.

Cuomo was questioned earlier this year for never having visited a mosque during his nearly 12 years as governor of New York, a state home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the country. Now, his campaign says he’s been to several, sometimes making multiple stops in a single week.

Cuomo’s newfound effort to court the South Asian community was also the topic of intense sparring between Cuomo and Mamdani in the first debate, with Cuomo at one point suggesting Mamdani’s politics are not “representative” of the Muslim community or “follow the Muslim faith.”

A visibly miffed Mamdani responded by pointing out Cuomo hadn’t visited a mosque until after he lost in the Democratic primary.

“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.

Cuomo’s campaign also launched an effort called “Hindus for Cuomo,” with visits to Hindu mandirs, or temples, where he decries democratic socialism. And following others’ cues, he’s learned to bow and touch the floor when entering a gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship.

Aides to Cuomo believe he may be able to peel away some support among older, more conservative voters who tend to focus on public safety and education. They are hoping Cuomo’s promises to hire more officers and expand the city’s gifted and talented schools could pull some immigrant voters away from Mamdani, who has called for police reforms while disavowing his past calls to defund law enforcement and proposed narrowing gifted programs.

Mamdani, an immigrant from Uganda, was raised by Indian parents in Manhattan and was 9 years old on September 11, 2001.

He has spoken about how growing up in the post 9/11 world shaped his childhood, echoing a similar story told by thousands of children who were in school the morning of the attacks.

“Zohran grew up in the shadow of 9/11,” Rahim, his senior adviser, said Thursday. “At the end of the day, this is New York City and New Yorkers are very familiar with garden-variety Islamophobia; they see it and reject it.”

This story has been updated with additional details.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.