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Zohran Mamdani is “dangerous,” and socialism would be a “death knell for New York City,” former Gov. Andrew Cuomo told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures.”
The leading mayoral candidates represent the political divide that has been brewing in the Democratic Party since President Donald Trump reclaimed the White House last year.
Cuomo said this “internal debate” should come as “no surprise,” tying Mamdani to fellow self-described democratic socialists, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., both of whom have endorsed Mamdani’s campaign.
“The primaries get the most active, often on the Democratic side, the most far-left people to come out to vote, and he mobilized the 20- to 30-year-olds, the socialists. The socialist organizations across the country sent volunteers, sent funding,” Cuomo said, rationalizing Mamdani’s Democratic primary win.
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The former governor, who is running as an independent candidate after losing to Mamdani in June, said the general election electorate is “much different.”
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“New York City people are not socialists,” Cuomo said. “They’re not anti-business people. They’re not anti-corporate people. They want jobs. They want growth.”
“It’s antithetical to New York City to be anti-corporate,” Cuomo said on Fox News on Sunday, criticizing Mamdani and his fellow “socialists” who believe in government freebies, taxing the rich and seizing the means of production.
New York City was “built on capitalism,” Cuomo said.
Mamdani plans to pay for his ambitious policy agenda, which includes free buses, no-cost healthcare and city-run grocery stores, by raising taxes on the 1% and corporations.
His plan includes raising the corporate tax rate to 11.5% and taxing the wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers 2%, according to Mamdani’s campaign website.
“New York City corporations are already high-taxed, as are the individuals,” Cuomo said. “I think it would be a death knell for New York City, and he is dangerous, frankly, for New York City.”
Meanwhile, Cuomo explained that his “pro-growth development strategy” focuses on attracting and building businesses and is central to Cuomo’s campaign.
“Too many businesses, as you know, have moved out of New York. So, number one, get more businesses here and grow the businesses that are here,” Cuomo explained.
A Bloomberg study found that 158 companies managing $993 billion in assets moved their headquarters out of New York between 2020 and 2023.
In addition to building businesses in New York City, Cuomo said he is focused on public safety and affordable housing.
“Crime is a real problem in New York City as it is in cities across the country, and New York City exacerbated it. A few years ago, the socialists went through this ‘defund the police,’ this anti-police movement,” Cuomo said.
According to Cuomo’s campaign website, the former governor wants to add 5,000 new police officers to the New York Police Department (NYPD). He told Fox News that he plans to add 1,500 officers to the patrol subways.
And to provide more affordable housing, Cuomo said he plans to add 50,000 new units per year, which will “add to the supply and meet the demand.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani for a response to Cuomo’s comments but did not immediately hear back.
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