Wednesday on ABC’s “The View,” Queens Assemblyman and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) said he is having individual “conversations” with NYPD officers when asked if he plans to apologize past comments accusing the department of being racist.
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin said, “Back in 2020, you called for defunding the police, something you’ve since walked back. You also called the NYPD racist, anti-queer and a threat to public safety in 2020, but now agree they deserve an apology. You initially refused to denounce highly-charged rhetoric related to Israel, then later said you would discourage its use. How can New Yorkers trust you and not be concerned that consultants are getting in your ear to get you elected, but you also hold all of those positions?”
Mamdani said, “Well, they can rest assured that it isn’t consultants in my ear. And I think this is another part of how to be a young person. Looking to lead is also to leave the opening for growth and understanding. And I can tell you, growing up in this city, I thought often about safety and justice, and I saw how justice was often left aside, whether it was the Central Park Five, whether it was Sean Bell, whether it was Eric Garner, whether it was watching the news of Michael Brown, and then in 2020, to see the murder of George Floyd, it felt as if there had never been a wider chasm in my life between those things. And after that, becoming an Assembly member and learning about the ways in which you deliver justice is by intertwining it with safety can’t be done alone. And learning that behind the headlines, behind the caricatures, we’re speaking about police officers who are just trying to do their best.”
Griffin said, “And can I ask, have you formally apologized to the NYPD?”
Mamdani said, “These are conversations that I’m having individually with officers, and I’ve appreciated that because it’s through those conversations with rank and file officers that I’ve learned more about the difficulties of this job.”
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