Andrew Cuomo Doubles (Triples? Quadruples?) Down on Racism

After his campaign tweeted (then deleted) a racist AI video during Wednesday night’s debate, Cuomo laughed with a conservative radio host who suggested Mamdani would celebrate another 9/11.

By Danielle Han  |  October 23, 2025 | 4:32pm
Photo: Getty Images Politics
Andrew Cuomo Doubles (Triples? Quadruples?) Down on Racism

On Wednesday night, New York’s three mayor-hopefuls went head-to-head(-to-head) in their second and final debate, where they discussed topics like how they’d deal with Donald Trump, what they’d do about ICE invading the city, and why Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch should get to keep her job. Aside from a question about everyone’s favorite music venue—to which Curtis Sliwa (R) responded: “Chainsmokers! EDM!”—the questions were much less entertaining than last week’s debate, where the candidates spoke about parades and their marijuana intake. Still, Sliwa delivered another five-star performance and spared neither candidate from his quippy one-liners. “Your résumé could fit on a cocktail napkin,” he told Zohran Mamdani (D), before turning to Andrew Cuomo (I); “Your failures could fill a public school library in New York City.”

Speaking directly to Cuomo, Mamdani also revealed that one of his debate guests was Charlotte Bennett, one of the several victims whose testimonies led to Cuomo’s resignation in 2021. “You sought to access her private gynecological records,” Mamdani said. “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’s response was (cue: shock) bad, and he replied, “If you want to be in government, then you have to be serious and mature. There were allegations of sexual harassment…The cases were dropped, right. You know that is a fact.” (In 2024, the Department of Justice found that Cuomo sexually harassed 13 women.) “So everything you just stated, you just said was a misstatement, which we’re accustomed to, from stated was a misstatement because the cases, the cases were dropped.” 

Needless to say, Cuomo got a whooping at the debate. As such, about 20 minutes into his abysmal performance, he seemingly decided to start playing dirty—and tweeted (and then deleted) an AI-generated video called “criminals for Zohran Mamdani.”

The clip opens with a fake Mamdani gallivanting down New York’s streets, eating rice with his hands (friendly reminder: over half the world does this!). A collection of people “endorse” him, but as the video progresses, it reveals they’re breaking windows, looting stores, and running prostitution rings. In one of the depictions, a Black man shoplifts in a keffiyeh. 

Andrew Cuomo’s campaign just posted — and quickly deleted — this AI-generated ad depicting “criminals for Zohran Mamdani.”

Features a Black man in a keffiyeh shoplifting, an abuser, a trespasser, a trafficker, a drug dealer, and a drunk driver all declaring support for Mamdani.

[image or embed]

— Prem Thakker ツ (@premthakker.bsky.social) October 23, 2025 at 1:08 AM

According to a Cuomo campaign spokesperson, the video “was posted in error” and “wasn’t done yet.” But to create a video like that using AI, you would need to run deliberate, clear, and accurate prompts to get this kind of output. Which begs the question: What the fuck was Team Cuomo asking of these AI models??

A number of people have obviously criticized the deleted video, with MSNBC’s Antonia Hylton calling it “sad” and “pretty racist,” and Al Jazeera’s Laila Al-Arian asking: “How are Palestinian New Yorkers supposed to feel about this or do they not matter?”

Alas, Cuomo is being Cuomo—and not knowing when to stop. On Thursday morning, he doubled down on the racism and, speaking to conservative radio host Sid Rosenberg, suggested they “imagine Mamdani” as mayor if there were another 9/11-like attack. “Yeah, I could,” Rosenberg responded. “He’d be cheering.” To which Cuomo laughed and said, “That’s another problem.” Mamdani tweeted about the interaction afterward, saying, “Just disgusting.”

Then, speaking with Pix 11 News on Thursday, Mamdani also condemned the video, saying, “This is Andrew Cuomo’s final moments in public life, and he’s choosing to spend them making racist attacks on the person who would be the first Muslim to lead this city.”

Mamdani’s popularity has been stressful for the much-hated Cuomo, who’s now scrambling for support—wherever he can find it. Before the debate, he went on Jake and Logan Paul’s podcast to discuss his plan to “beat” Mamdani, adding to his collection of MAGA influencers he’s been relying on to get… anyone’s vote. On Tuesday, a right-wing influencer kicked off a campaign horribly titled Hot Girls for Cuomo—though she forgot to buy the domain name in advance.

As of Thursday, Eric Adams is also planning to endorse Cuomo—a pivot from the former incumbent calling him a “snake and a liar” while he’d still been in the race.

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