Interruptions, insults and innuendo peppered the second and final debate of the New York City mayoral race on Wednesday.
In their last public exchange before Election Day, the race’s three highest-polling candidates attempted to undermine their opponents and score viral breakout moments. They often resorted to personal attacks and pushed one another to take positions on issues they had avoided addressing.
Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who is running as an independent, focused much of his criticism on the Democratic nominee and front-runner, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. Mr. Mamdani often responded by arguing that many of the city’s current problems could be traced to Mr. Cuomo’s governorship.
Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee, worked as an equal-opportunity attacker, criticizing the other two candidates and frequently referring to them as “my adversaries.”
The live studio audience at LaGuardia Community College in Queens also gave the candidates more opportunities for applause lines. After they landed verbal blows against their opponents, they were frequently met with cheers or jeers, or both.
The exchanges grew so heated that at one point, the moderators had to interrupt the candidates to remind them of the rules, in an effort to curb the cross-talk. In the end, the debate ran five minutes over the allotted time.
Here are the best zingers from the stage:
Cuomo: ‘He thinks he’s a kid, and he’s going to knock him on his tuchus.’
The moderators asked how the candidates would respond to the heightened presence of federal law enforcement in the city, prompting a back-and-forth over how they would work with President Trump. Mr. Cuomo aimed to position himself as the best candidate to stand up to the president. Mr. Mamdani, he said, would falter in the face of pressure from the White House, contending that Mr. Trump does not respect the 34-year-old assemblyman.
Mamdani: ‘We heard from Donald Trump’s puppet himself.’
Mr. Mamdani responded to Mr. Cuomo’s assertion that Mr. Trump would steamroll him by painting the former governor as a tool of the president. He has often used this line of attack in an effort to undermine Mr. Cuomo in overwhelmingly Democratic New York City, where the president is unpopular.
Cuomo: ‘Not everything is a TikTok video.’
Mr. Mamdani’s social media prowess has fueled much of his rapid political rise. And even as his opponents have sought to mimic the viral success of his snappy campaign videos, on the debate stage Wednesday night Mr. Cuomo ridiculed them. In response to a question about the candidates’ relationships to Jewish New Yorkers, the former governor tried to throw cold water on the assemblyman’s comments, suggesting that his rhetoric amounted to little more than internet fodder.
Sliwa: ‘You didn’t leave. You fled from being impeached by the Democrats in the State Legislature.’
Many of Mr. Sliwa’s attacks on Mr. Cuomo focused on the sexual assault allegations against the former governor, which led to his resignation in 2021. Mr. Cuomo has denied wrongdoing, and reiterated his denials several times on the debate stage. But after Mr. Cuomo referred to his having “left” the governor’s mansion when answering a question about homeless students, Mr. Sliwa jumped in to correct the record about his departure.
Cuomo: ‘There’s one bed I’m going to save for you.’
The candidates’ frustrations with one another surfaced again during a back-and-forth about the city’s mentally ill homeless residents and the need for more psychiatric beds. As Mr. Cuomo laid out his plan, Mr. Sliwa interrupted to claim that the former governor had cut portions of the state’s budget that could be used for mental health resources while in Albany. Mr. Cuomo responded by suggesting that if elected, he would set aside a space for Mr. Sliwa in a mental institution.
Mamdani: ‘He spent more money on a singing water fountain at LaGuardia Airport than he did on the average cost of an affordable housing unit.’
The sweeping renovation of LaGuardia Airport in Queens is one of the crown jewels of Mr. Cuomo’s record as governor. But during the debate, Mr. Mamdani criticized the expense of the project in light of the need to build housing for low-income New Yorkers. While responding to a question about homeless students, he mentioned the illuminated fountain, one of the flashier upgrades at the once-beleaguered airport, as an example of what he saw as the former governor’s misplaced policy priorities.
Sliwa: ‘You’re in the back pockets, Andrew, of the developers who wined, dined and pocket-lined you.’
Mr. Sliwa, who has delivered rhyming political slogans throughout the campaign, launched a new one at Mr. Cuomo, whom he has called beholden to the city’s wealthy interests. He made the comment during an exchange about affordable housing initiatives, as he sought to portray himself as a better champion of working-class New Yorkers than the former governor.
Sliwa: ‘Put that crook in jail, where he belongs.’
When the candidates were asked whether they would accept an endorsement from Mayor Eric Adams, Mr. Sliwa emphatically said no, suggesting that Mr. Adams has committed crimes. (The mayor was indicted last year on federal corruption charges, which were later abandoned by Mr. Trump’s Justice Department.)
Mamdani: ‘We have all experienced your experience.’
In one of Mr. Mamdani’s final attacks on Mr. Cuomo, he sought to undercut the former governor’s claim that his extensive experience was his primary qualification. Mr. Mamdani argued that many New Yorkers were aware of the former governor’s track record, and in fact had been harmed by it. The assemblyman then invoked the nursing home residents who died during the Covid-19 pandemic, a direct attack line he used during the first debate.
Maya King is a Times reporter covering New York politics.
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