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Reactions to Wednesday night’s New York City mayoral debate were heavily focused on the candidates’ efforts to attack each other for alleged personal scandals, such as former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment allegations and Zohran Mamdani’s links to radical politics.
The candidates’ decision to relentlessly criticize each other amid their final chance to make a pitch to voters did not go unnoticed on social media. While each candidate received support and criticism all around, Cuomo’s response to a question from Mamdani about what he would say to victims who have accused him of sexual harassment was frequently highlighted.
“I just want to go on-record and say I have never in my life seen somebody get their a– whooped at a debate this m—er f—ing bad,” political content creator and podcast host Brian Baez said.
“Mamdani just detonated the debate,” podcast host Brian Allen added. “He looked Cuomo dead in the eye and invoked Charlotte Bennett; one of the 13 women Cuomo allegedly harassed, saying she was in the audience but couldn’t speak because Cuomo’s lawyers ‘hounded her.’”
“Charlotte Bennett is a NY hero,” posted New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, referring to one of Cuomo’s accusers. Lander was arrested in June for allegedly assaulting a federal immigration officer, but those charges were ultimately dropped. He was also a candidate for NYC mayor before losing to Mamdani in the primary. Lander also posted a video of a crowd cheering when asked if they thought Mamdani won the debate.
Meanwhile, one of Cuomo’s accusers, Karen Hinton, was present at the debate Wednesday night, after which she hit the spin room and explained how Cuomo’s response about what he would say to women like her proved Cuomo lacks the “moral compass” to be mayor.
“I am one of these women. I have been legally abused by Andrew Cuomo for years after being harassed as his staffer,” another accuser, Lindsey Boylan, said on X. “Now he wants to be mayor.”
Cuomo’s decision after the debate to skip the spin room with reporters, instead jolting straight to the New York Knicks game where he was pictured sitting next to incumbent New York City mayor Eric Adams, was also a focus on social media following the debate.
But, altogether, reactions to Cuomo’s performance were not entirely negative. And reactions to Mamdani’s performance were not entirely positive – especially from Republicans.
“If Andrew Cuomo had brought the energy to this campaign that he’s bringing to this debate, he would not be fighting for his political life right now,” Actor and director Tom Brennan added Wednesday night.
“Andrew Cuomo is crushing Zohran Mamdani at the Mayoral debate tonight,” wrote pro-Israel activist Uri Cohen on X.
“I will say that both Cuomo and Sliwa are absolutely tearing Mamdani apart at this debate,” added New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.
Stefanik argued in her analysis of the debate, which she posted on X, that Mamdani came across as a phony throughout the night.
“Mamdani’s wind up doll routine is getting unmasked for the Communist jihadist he is,” Stefanik said Wednesday. “Notice Mamdani cracks with only very minor follow ups.”
Cuomo did not hold back on targeting Mamdani over alleged controversies that have embattled his campaign during Wednesday night’s debate. Cuomo blasted the self-proclaimed socialist over his lack of experience, ties to radical politics, and past radical comments about law enforcement, Israel and the situation in Gaza.
Among those controversies was an alleged picture Mamdani took with a hard-lined Ugandan lawmaker who has pushed policies of imprisoning people for being gay, which Mamdani posed for while taking a break from the campaign trail to visit his home country of Uganda for a wedding.
Cuomo also hit the controversy over whether Mamdani adequately supports Jewish New Yorkers, pointing to actions he has taken and remarks he has made, such as support for the phrasing “globalize the intifada” and “from the river to the sea.” One of the people who Mamdani has tried to distance himself from as a result of such radical rhetoric is podcaster Hasan Piker, who said on X after the debate: “bro this new york jews are terrified of the muslim mayor who has the majority opinion on israels genocide sh— is so god—-n tired and frankly, racist.”
Laura Loomer, a close Trump ally and former failed GOP congressional candidate, jumped on the criticism of Mamdani over his alleged antisemitism on Wednesday night after the debate.
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“Zohran Mamdani’s most outrageous lie tonight came when he said he would take antisemitism seriously, saying, ‘I have heard from Jewish New Yorkers about their fears about antisemitism in this city. And what they deserve is a leader who takes it seriously,’” Loomer’s podcast “Loomer Unleashed” posted on X and was later shared by Loomer herself on X.
“This quote is laughably false, as Zohran’s own X account shows he supports BDS legislation,” the “Loomer Unleashed” quote concluded.
Meanwhile, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa mainly got praise on social media for his performance without a ton of criticism. He is widely considered to be significantly behind Cuomo and Mamdani in the polls.
“Curtis Sliwa has the courage of a lion. No doubt he’d make a great mayor, and he demonstrated as much in tonight’s debate,” former New York City mayor, Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday night.
Minority leader of the New York City Council’s Republican delegation, Joann Ariola, said, “hands-down” Sliwa was the winner of the debate.
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