OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
9:55 AM – Friday, October 17, 2025
New York City’s three mayoral candidates faced each other in the first general mayoral election debate.
On Thursday, Democrat candidate Zohran Mamdani, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a former Democrat running as an independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa appeared before a panel of moderators on CBS News for a two-hour-long debate.
Mamdani entered the debate as the frontrunner in the race, having beaten Cuomo in the Democrat primary.
Mamdani and Cuomo quickly took each other to task during the debate. Cuomo accused Mamdani of being unqualified and inexperienced, having not served in public office before.
“This is no job for on-the-job training,” Cuomo said. “If you look at the failed mayors, they’re ones that have no management experience.”
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Mamdani, the 33-year-old self-described democratic socialist, referenced his five years as a state assemblyman as his management experience, along with his experience as a citizen of New York City since childhood.
The Democrat candidate called himself “someone who has actually paid rent in the city” and “who has had to wait for a bus that never came, someone who actually buys his groceries in this city.”
“What the assemblyman said is he has no experience,” Cuomo fired back.
Mamdani responded, “What I don’t have in experience, I make up for in integrity, and what you don’t have in integrity, you could never make up for in experience.”
Cuomo is attempting a comeback after he resigned as governor of New York in 2021, facing several allegations of sexual harassment, a topic that both Mamdani and Sliwa pressed, along with the allegations that Cuomo left ailing elders in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cuomo defended himself, saying that “none of that came to anything” and that the allegations against him in both areas were “political.”
Sliwa, meanwhile, touted his founding of the Guardian Angels in 1979, a volunteer patrol group in New York City known for their red berets.
“Thank God I’m not a professional politician,” Sliwa stated.
The Republican referred to Cuomo and Mamdani, respectively, as the “architect” and “apprentice” of policies that are to blame for the crime problems in the city.
The candidates were asked about their views on the Israel-Hamas conflict, a potent issue considering that Mamdani is running to be the first Muslim mayor of New York City, and that New York City has the largest Jewish population in the country and the world, excluding Israel.
Mamdani was given a chance to clarify his position on the ceasefire deal, having previously been reluctant to say that Hamas should lay down their weapons in a Fox News interview earlier this week.
“Of course, I believe that they should lay down their arms,” Mamdani answered.
“Calling for a ceasefire means ceasing fire. That means all parties have to cease fire and put down their weapons. And the reason that we call for that is not only the end of the genocide, but also an unimpeded access [to] humanitarian aid. I, like many New Yorkers, am hopeful that the ceasefire will hold, am hopeful that it is durable, am hopeful that it is just.”
Mamdani continued, “And for it to be just, we also have to ensure that it addresses the conditions that preceded this; conditions like occupation, like the siege, and apartheid.”
Sliwa jumped in to highlight President Donald Trump’s involvement in the peace plan, and told both men that they “seem to be incapable” of giving credit “where credit is due.”
Cuomo defended his response to the Trump administration’s ceasefire deal, saying that he “did applaud President Trump and his administration.” He then pointed to Mamdani’s mention of “occupation,” claiming that the Democrat was speaking in “code meaning that Israel does not have the right to exist as a Jewish state.”
“The assemblyman will not denounce Hamas,” the former governor stated.
He also noted that Mamdani would not denounce pro-Hamas and antisemitic slogans such as “from the river to the sea” and “globalize the Intifada.”
Sliwa backed up Cuomo’s allegations, telling the Democrat, “Jews don’t trust that you are going to be there for them when they are victims of antisemitic attacks.”
At one point in the debate, the candidates were asked how they would handle the potential deployment of the National Guard in New York City, which the president has considered.
Sliwa praised New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s handling of crime on the subway system by sending the National Guard in 2024, but said that Trump should focus on other cities that “could desperately use their help.”
Mamdani said that he would “stand up to Donald Trump” regarding the deployment of both the National Guard and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
Cuomo argued that the New York Police Department (NYPD) is the answer to subway crime and opposed Trump’s use of federal troops because “he’s not sending in the National Guard to do any real function. It’s control. It’s power. He’s trying to say, ‘These Democrats don’t know how to run these cities,’ and it’s a political gesture.”
The moderators noted that all three candidates previously had run-ins with the Commander-in-Chief.
Mamdani expressed willingness to work with the president to achieve affordability, claiming that though Trump campaigned for cutting costs, “all he’s been able to deliver thus far has been prosecuting his political enemies and trying to enact the largest deportation program in American history.”
Cuomo referenced his “many, many battles” during the COVID-19 pandemic as proof that he would be willing to stand up to Trump.
Sliwa, however, said that he would be willing to negotiate with Trump, warning that “you can’t be tough if it’s going to cost people desperately needed federal funds.” This refers to Trump’s threat of major federal budget cuts if Mamdani is elected.
The New York City mayoral election is scheduled for November 4th.
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