Cuomo Tries to Save His Failing Campaign With a 9/11 Comment on Zohran

Andrew Cuomo’s campaign for mayor of New York City is not going well. In polls, he consistently trails the front-runner and Democratic nominee, New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. And on Wednesday night, he was on the receiving end of blistering attacks during the final debate of the mayoral race.

How did Cuomo respond the following morning? By making an offensive and bigoted 9/11 joke about Mamdani, a Muslim.

The former New York governor was on the WABC radio show Sid and Friends in the Morning, and asked host Sid Rosenberg, “God forbid, another 9/11—can you imagine Mamdani in the seat?”

“He’d be cheering,” Rosenberg replied, to which Cuomo replied, “That’s another problem.”

It’s one thing to claim Mamdani lacks the experience to handle a major crisis like a terrorist attack. It’s quite another to insinuate that the Democratic nominee would cheer on a horrific tragedy to the city he’d be leading, with a nod toward Islamophobia in the process. And the radio show is not even the first instance of Cuomo engaging in bigotry against Mamdani.

On Wednesday, right before the debate, the Cuomo campaign quickly posted and deleted an AI-generated video showing “criminals” supporting Mamdani’s campaign, including a drunk driver, domestic abuser, and a Black man wearing a keffiyeh shoplifting.

It’s quite clear the Cuomo campaign is getting desperate in the final weeks of the mayoral race. Mamdani has managed to gather support from the city’s diverse communities, and Cuomo’s little joke may set him back further in his attempt to drum up support for his flagging campaign.

Listen to Cuomo’s interview with Rosenberg at WABC radio’s website (the “joke” is at the 21-minute mark).