Mamdani admits not watching NY governor debate, but accuses Blakeman of ‘bigotry and racism’

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani accused Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman of “bigotry and racism” after the latter’s debate with Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul live. Mamdani told reporters he didn’t watch Blakeman and Hochul square off Tuesday night, but he didn’t mince words. A reporter asked Mamdani whether he was bothered that Hochul hadn’t responded to Blakeman’s claims that the NYC mayor is an antisemite.

“It is hard for anyone to keep up with all of the bigotry and racism that Bruce Blakeman exhibits on a regular basis. So, I think that the governor did a good job. And I’ll never fault someone for not being able to catch all of it because that is a fool’s errand when it comes to Bruce Blakeman,” Mamdani said. “And I think the governor also made clear, you know, I’ve said that I, I didn’t watch the debate beyond the clip, but I think the governor has made clear time and time again what her vision is. It’s a vision of a more affordable New York,” he continued.

“And when it comes to Bruce Blakeman, his vision seems to be making life harder for working people. When the governor and I announced putting our city on a pathway to universal childcare, Bruce Blakeman went on television and said this was rewarding lazy parents who would sit at home and watch ‘The View.’ When we were speaking about concerns about what HR1 was going to do with regards to healthcare access across the state, Bruce Blakeman went on television and said that he would cut Medicaid in half.”

Blakeman has been critical of Mamdani and Hochul

Although most of the debate did not center around Mamdani, Blakeman did cite Hochul’s support for the mayor and added: “Look, if you want to campaign with him, that’s fine. But I will tell you right now, I think Zohran Mamdani is an antisemite. I believe he’s anti-Christian, and I don’t think he has American values.” Meanwhile, Hochul attacked Blakeman for his friendship with President Trump, who campaigned alongside him last week, while Blakeman went after Hochul for her stance on immigration.

The Nassau County executive previously accused the mayor of being antisemitic during the October 7 memorial, saying one of his priorities is stopping Mamdani, a vocal critic of Israel. “The antisemitism is out of control,” Blakeman said during the Bukharian Jewish Congress. “We have a mayor of New York City who put a statement just today, on Oct. 7, where he makes a moral equivalence between the attack on Oct. 7 and the Palestinian cause, whatever that cause may be.”