Divergent Focuses For Cuomo, Mamdani In The Nyc Mayoral Race’s Final Sprint

NEW YORK — The final, frenzied sprint in New York City’s Democratic primary for mayor featured Andrew Cuomo homing in on Zohran Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” and Mamdani blasting the millions of dollars Michael Bloomberg has poured into a pro-Cuomo super PAC.

In campaign stops Thursday, the rivals both name-checked the billionaire former mayor, who has contributed $8.3 million to the pro-Cuomo PAC in an effort to blunt Mamdani’s momentum. Mamdani slammed the spending as an affront to democracy. Cuomo praised Bloomberg for taking a stand.

“Michael Bloomberg has sought to buy elections before. He spent an unbelievable amount of money when he ran for president,” Mamdani told reporters at an Astoria, Queens, bar. “It’s to fulfill the vision that he shared with New Yorkers many years ago: that this city should be a luxury product. And what we want this city to be is a city for working- and middle-class people.”

Cuomo acknowledged Bloomberg’s endorsement but devoted more pointed attention to Mamdani’s recent remarks about the “globalize the intifada” phrase, which many Jews view as a call to violence against them. Mamdani is not being criticized for using the phrase, but for his response when asked to opine on it.

“He happens to be a billionaire. Good for him. He also happens to have been a highly successful mayor of New York City,” Cuomo said of Bloomberg during a campaign stop in the Co-op City section of the Bronx. “Mr. Bloomberg is also concerned, as are many Jewish New Yorkers, about statements that Mr. Mamdani has made. You know, when you say ‘globalize the intifada,’ that is basically repugnant to the Jewish community and is basically inciting violence.”

With the June 24 primary just around the corner and early voting already underway, several candidates for the Democratic nomination crisscrossed the city on the Juneteenth holiday. Brad Lander, a third candidate who enjoyed a recent breakthrough with his arrest by federal immigration officials, continued his push to stay in the conversation. But he stepped gingerly into the “intifada” debate, trying to inject nuance into the flashpoint topic.

“I don’t like the phrase ‘globalize the intifada,’” Lander, who is Jewish, told reporters after voting in Park Slope, Brooklyn. “Some people, when they say it, they might mean ‘fight for the rights of Palestinians,’ but I’ll tell you, all I can hear is ‘open season on Jews.’”

Lander, the city comptroller who has cross-endorsed with Mamdani under the city’s ranked-choice voting system, also defended the democratic socialist.

“We do not agree on everything about Israel and Palestine, but I do believe that he will protect Jewish New Yorkers and our rights,” he said. “And I was proud to rank him second.”

Mamdani, a critic of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, was asked this week if the phrase, which has become a rallying cry for some pro-Palestinian protesters, made him uncomfortable. He did not condemn or reject it and was asked again about it Thursday.

“These words have different meanings for many different people,” Mamdani said, repeating his vow to combat antisemitism. “I’ve been clear that any incitement to violence is something that I’m in opposition to, and that the use of any language to that end is clearly something that I oppose.”

In recent days, Mamdani has also discussed threats he’s faced over the course of his campaign, often for being Muslim. On Thursday, his campaign released a statement saying the NYPD is investigating a car bomb threat against him. In the statement, Mamdani said the threat "is not surprising after millions of dollars have been spent on dehumanizing, Islamophobic rhetoric designed to stoke division and hate."

Recent polls put Mamdani, a state lawmaker, in second place behind Cuomo. Lander has placed third in recent polling. Mamdani said his surge just behind Cuomo is what’s motivating Bloomberg’s largesse — and that it highlights Cuomo’s alignment with the wealthy.

He also pointed to the NYPD’s post-9/11 surveillance of Muslims under Bloomberg, including at mosques and schools.

“I am very critical of their limited vision as to who belongs in New York City and who is worthy of support and who is worthy of suspicion,” he said.

While Cuomo and the super PAC backing him have focused many of their attacks on Mamdani's views around Israel, Cuomo has also called into question his experience. Mamdani, who's 33, has rebutted those broadsides by pointing to Cuomo’s own record, including sexual harassment allegations that the former governor has denied and his handling of Covid. Cuomo continued to hammer away at Mamdani’s relatively light resume Thursday.

“Mayor of New York, you need to have experience, you need to have credentials,” he said. “You need to have had a job where you managed something before, right?”