The three candidates for NYC mayor — Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa — lobbed sharp assaults at one another throughout Wednesday’s second, and ultimate, mayoral debate in Queens.
Mamdani, the Democratic frontrunner, got here into the night with polls exhibiting him solidly within the lead. Cuomo, an impartial candidate, was searching for to tear into lead wherever he may, usually attacking Mamdani’s lack of expertise in authorities.
Cuomo accused Mamdani of being immature and of sowing division in New York Metropolis, whereas Mamdani knocked Cuomo as a “desperate man lashing out” and “Trump’s puppet.”
(L-R) Impartial candidate former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Democratic candidate Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, take part in a second New York Metropolis mayoral debate at LaGuardia Performing Arts Middle at LaGuardia Group School in Lengthy Island Metropolis, Queens, on October 22, 2025 in New York Metropolis. (Picture by Hiroko Masuike-Pool/Getty Photographs)
Republican Sliwa, who’s been dealing with strain to drop out of the race with the purpose of handing his voters over to Cuomo, performed a spoiler position, doling out assaults to each candidates.
Early voting begins in simply three days, with Election Day on Nov. 4.
Listed below are some takeaways from the night time:
Clashing on expertise
Mamdani and Cuomo sparred over the difficulty of expertise, with Cuomo saying the 34-year-old assemblymember doesn’t have sufficient to guide town.
“If you want to work in government, then you have to be serious and mature,” Cuomo stated.
“You don’t know how to handle an emergency, and you literally never proposed a bill on anything that you’re not talking about in your campaign,” Cuomo stated in a single alternate.
Mamdani tried to show the argument again onto Cuomo by saying his expertise as governor, together with sexual harassment allegations and the Covid nursing residence scandal, had been disqualifying.
“The issue is your experience,” Mamdani advised the ex-governor.
Mamdani stated Cuomo was “creating his own facts.”
“We just had a former governor say in his own words that the city has been getting screwed by the state,” the candidate stated. “Who was leading the state? It was you, governor.”
Sliwa pilled on the difficulty, as nicely, saying Mamdani’s resume may “fit on a cocktail napkin.”
Mamdani skirts questions, get mocked
Mamdani was repeatedly pummeled by his opponents for not giving clear solutions or sidestepping powerful questions through the marketing campaign.
Early within the night, Cuomo pivoted from a query on means-testing for rent-stabilized housing to slam Mamdani’s “freeze the rent” agenda merchandise.
“It’s all this,” Cuomo stated, flapping his hand to mime a hand speaking. “It’s all political blather.”
Impartial candidate and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo participates within the second New York Metropolis mayoral debate at LaGuardia Performing Arts Middle at LaGuardia Group School in Lengthy Island Metropolis, Queens, New York, on October 22, 2025. (Picture by HIROKO MASUIKE/POOL/AFP by way of Getty Photographs)
When requested about his place on poll propositions on housing, Mamdani, not like Cuomo and Sliwa, stated he hadn’t but made up his thoughts on the difficulty. Councilmembers, a lot of them allies to Mamdani, are staunchly against the measures, which might put a dent within the means of council members to exert management over growth in their very own districts..
“What a political answer, what is your opinion?” Sliwa shot in response.
“What a shock,” Cuomo jeered, flapping his palms once more.
The moderators touched on this, too, with NY 1’s Errol Louis asking Mamdani why he’s prevented questions on mayoral management, poll questions and his stance on intercourse work.
Who’s harder on Trump?
Requested how he would deal with a state of affairs just like the Tuesday federal immigration raids on Canal Avenue, Cuomo stated he would met aggression with aggression by placing his “finger right back in [Trump’s] chest.”
“I would have called the President and I would say, ‘Look, you’re way out of bounds,’” Cuomo stated. “They are way out of bounds. Call them back, or I’m going to tell the NYPD to step in and stop them.’”
Mamdani, for his half, stated he could be open to working with Trump on affordability however would put up a combat relating to immigration enforcement. If confronted with ICE raids, Mamdani stated he’d first give attention to strengthening native protections like road vendor reforms.
”That’s an instance of how we will each shield, guarantee high quality of life and go away no stone unturned in delivering for the individuals of town,” Mamdani stated.
Sliwa stated he would look to barter with Trump or “his minions” when coping with the president.
Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa participates in a second New York Metropolis mayoral debate at LaGuardia Performing Arts Middle at LaGuardia Group School within the Queens borough of New York, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (Hiroko Masuike/The New York Instances by way of AP, Pool)
“With Trump, it’s always the art of the deal,” he stated, referring to a ebook Trump wrote by the identical title.
Onerous questions, no solutions
At one level within the debate, every candidate was allowed to ask a query of an opponent.
Mamdani requested Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 after being accused of sexual harassment, what he would say to one in every of his accusers, Charlotte Bennett, who sat within the viewers.
“What do you say to the 13 women you harassed?” Mamdani requested.
Cuomo responded by slamming Mamdani as immature and reiterating that the prison circumstances towards him had been dropped,
He ten pivoted to assault Mamdani on his twin citizenship in Uganda, asking why he gained’t resign it. Cuomo identified the nation’s anti-gay insurance policies after which attacked the candidate for taking an image with a prime Ugandan official who pushed harshly-anti LGBTQ+ laws.
Neither candidate answered the opposite.
Mamdani needs Tisch to remain
Onstage on the debate, Mamdani — who has come underneath fireplace for previous calls to defund th police – confirmed experiences he intends to ask present Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to remain on in the identical position.
However Mamdani didn’t reply when requested whether or not Tisch, who’s spoken out about prison justice reforms Mamdani’s a proponent of like bail reform, has indicted she’d take him up on his supply.
“This is a decision that I’ve made to further the agenda that I have been running on,” Mamdani stated. “A decision that will also deliver the creation of a Department of Community Safety, a decision that will also ensure that safety and justice are being delivered to New Yorkers.”
Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani participates within the second New York Metropolis mayoral debate at LaGuardia Performing Arts Middle at LaGuardia Group School in Lengthy Island Metropolis, Queens, New York, on October 22, 2025. (Picture by HIROKO MASUIKE/POOL/AFP by way of Getty Photographs)
Tisch, who was appointed by Mayor Adams after cascading scandals tore via his administration and the higher ranks of his public security officers, is extensively revered within the metropolis.
“Commissioner Tisch took on a broken status quo, started to deliver accountability, rooting out corruption and reducing crime across the five boroughs,” the candidate stated on the debate.
Israel query stirs fiery exchanges
Cuomo and Sliwa laced into Mamdani’s stance on the Israel-Hamas battle, claiming the democratic socialist was amplifying anti-semitism via his positions. Mamdani has sparked anger and concern with a lot of his positions, together with not recognizing the suitable of Israel to exist as a Jewish state.
Sliwa claimed Mamdani is seen as somebody who “fans the flames of anti-semitism” and even stated the candidate had praised “global jihad.”
“I have never, not once, spoken in support of global jihad,” Mamdani punched again.
“That is not something that I have said and that continues to be ascribed to me. And frankly, I think much of it has to do with the fact that I am the first Muslim candidate to be on the precipice of winning this election,” he stated.
Mamdani has come underneath fireplace over the risky phrase “globalize the intifada,” which he has not condemned however stated he would now not encourage.
Initially Printed: October 22, 2025 at 11:01 PM EDT
