Sparks fly as Cuomo, Mamdani tear into each other during fiery debate: ‘Toxic energy’

Front-runners for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo, wasted little time attacking each other on alleged personal scandals they have been involved in during a Wednesday night debate between the pair and GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa.  

Mamdani and Sliwa took the opportunity during Wednesday's debate to drill down on past sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, the former governor of New York, ahead of an impeachment inquiry that preceded Cuomo's 2021 resignation. Cuomo was also hit by Mamdani over accusations he has – while in public office – failed to meet with Muslim constituents and only began doing so amid pressure from his mayoral campaign, and over his alleged poor handling of the COVID-19 virus in New York after Cuomo was party to issuing guidance forcing nursing homes and long-term care facilities to admit COVID-19 positive patients.

Meanwhile, Cuomo did not hold back on targeting Mamdani over alleged controversies that have embattled his campaign. Cuomo blasted the self-proclaimed socialist over his lack of experience, ties to radical politics, and past radical comments about law enforcement, Israel and the situation in Gaza.

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"My main opponent has no new ideas. He has no new plan. … He's never run anything, managed anything. He's never had a real job," Cuomo said of Mamdani during the debate. Cuomo also branded Mamdani as someone who has proven to be "a divisive force in New York," pointing to past incidents that have garnered Mamdani heat from critics. 

One of those incidents included a picture he took with a hard-lined Ugandan lawmaker who has pushed policies of imprisoning people for being gay, which Mamdani took while taking a break from the campaign trail to visit his home country of Uganda for a wedding. Cuomo also hit the controversy over whether Mamdani supports Jewish New Yorkers, as his critics have claimed he is anti-Israel pointing to statements he has made, like "globalize the intifada." 

Cuomo also accused Mamdani of disrespecting Italian-Americans after a video of him surfaced giving the middle finger to a statue of Christopher Columbus, while also pointing to criticism the self-proclaimed socialist candidate has garnered from 9/11 first-responders after posting a photo with a Muslim cleric who served as a character witness for the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 attacks. 

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"You have been a divisive force in New York, and I believe that's toxic energy for New York. It's with the Jewish community. It's with the Italian-American community – when you give the Columbus statue the finger. It's with the Sunni Muslims when you say decriminalize prostitution, which is Haram. It's the Hindus," Cuomo continued. "Then, you take a picture with Rebecca Kadaga, deputy Prime Minister of Uganda. … She's known as Rebecca ‘Gay Killer.’ … You're a citizen of Uganda. You took the picture. You said you didn't know who she was. It turns out you did. How do you not renounce your citizenship or demand BDS against Uganda for imprisoning people who are gay just by their sexual orientation? Isn't that a basic violation of human rights?"

Mamdani shot back that his politics have remained "consistent" and that they are built on a belief in human rights for all people, including LGBTQ+ folks. Had he known Kadga's role in drafting legislation to imprison gay folks, Mamdani said, he never would have taken the picture. 

"This constant attempt to smear and slander me is an attempt to also distract from the fact that, unlike myself, you do not actually have a platform or a set of policies," Mamdani shot back at Cuomo before introducing his own claims about the former governor regarding past accusations of sexual harassment.

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"Mr. Cuomo. In 2021, 13 different women who worked in your administration credibly accused you of sexual harassment. Since then, you have spent more than $20 million in taxpayer funds to defend yourself, all while describing these allegations as entirely political," Mamdani said while attacking Cuomo Wednesday night. 

"You have even gone so far as to legally go after these women. One of those women, Charlotte Bennett, is here in the audience this evening. You sought to access her private gynecological records. She cannot speak up for herself because you lodged a defamation case against her. I, however, can speak. What do you say to the 13 women that you sexually harassed?" 

Cuomo, in 2021, was accused of multiple incidents of sexual harassment that preceded his resignation as governor that year. A subsequent report from New York Attorney General Letitia James confirmed Cuomo "sexually harassed multiple women from 2013 through 2020," while in January 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it had reached a nearly $500,000 settlement with Cuomo's executive office over one of the claims. However, no criminal charges were ever filed against Cuomo, with some district attorneys citing insufficient evidence.

Cuomo defended himself against Mamdani's accusations, noting the cases were eventually dropped, before returning to questions about Mamdani's alleged past. 

Meanwhile, Sliwa didn't skip an opportunity to slam Cuomo over the sexual assault allegations either, saying early in the debate during a discussion about homelessness that Cuomo "fled" the governor's office amid an impeachment inquiry that was investigating him.

"Andrew, you didn't ‘leave.’ You fled from being impeached by the Democrats in the state legislature," Sliwa began before getting into the homelessness issue, earning him a round-of-applause from the audience. 

"'Leave?' You fled!" Sliwa continued to applause. "But let's get back on topic." 

Vulnerable Democrats hammered with scathing ad handcuffing them to Mamdani, Jeffries

FIRST ON FOX: The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is rolling out a new ad tying the policies of "radical" Democrats, like New York City socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, to the future outlook of the Democratic Party. 

The new message, targeting 25 vulnerable House Democrats across the country with a modest ad buy on digital platforms, hammers the party on "Project 2026" and outlines what the Republicans say Democrats will offer voters in the midterms. 

"Hakeem Jeffries’ plan to remake America," the ad says. "Raise taxes on working families, impeach President Trump."

The ad then plays a clip of Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries saying, "Donald Trump must be removed from office" and Dem. Rep. Dina Titus saying, "I’d like to impeach the bastard right now."

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The ad then claims Democrats want to "open the border" and "restart the invasion" of illegal immigrants that came into the country during the Biden administration, before quoting two Democrats, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Gabe Vasquez, calling to abolish ICE and defund the police.

"They riot, they loot," the ad continues before showing two clips of Mamdani saying "we are unapologetic about our socialism" and promoting the "abolition of private property."

Jeffries then says in a clip, "Chip at it aggressively until we can unravel the whole system." 

The ad closes by claiming that Democrats want to "turn America into a socialist, crime-filled dystopia" before airing a clip from Jeffries saying, "We’re gonna take back America and it starts today" 

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The ad closes with, "Are you going to let them?"

The list of vulnerable elected officials targeted by the ad includes Democratic Reps. Tom Suozzi of New York, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Emilia Sykes of Ohio, Eugene Vindman of Virginia, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Frank Mrvan of Indiana and others. 

"This is the America Democrats want to build: Raising taxes for working families, baseless impeachments, wide open borders, abolishing ICE, defunding the police, and turning America into a socialist, crime-filled dystopia," NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital. "House Republicans are the only thing standing between you and the nightmare of ‘Project 2026.’"

The NRCC released a memo on Tuesday morning in which it knocked Jeffries for failing to meet a self-imposed deadline to roll out a new vision for America with a Democratic-controlled House.

The Hill reported in April that Jeffries committed that "over these next 100 days, House Democrats are going to lay out a blueprint for a better America. And you will see a vision for this country’s future that isn’t about Donald Trump. It’s all about you."

With those 100 days having already elapsed, the NRCC published a satirical memo titled "Project 2026," in which they accused the Democrats of being out of step with the American people.

In response, Viet Shelton, a spokesperson for the DCCC, fired back at the messaging from the NRCC.

"House Republicans have done nothing to improve the lives of everyday Americans," Shelton said. 

"It’s no wonder they’re desperately attempting to distract from their disastrous record of higher costs for working families and ripping away health care from millions while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest few. Poll after poll shows voters across the country are fed up with their billionaire-first agenda and are going to reject them next year."

Fox News Digital's Peter Pinedo contributed to this report