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Independent New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo slammed his rival, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, for his “very harsh” rhetoric about the police on CNN Tuesday.

Cuomo’s comments came during a discussion about the mass shooting in Manhattan on Monday night during which four, including NYPD officer Didarul Islam, were killed.

“Do you think your opponent, Zohran Mamdani-, would a Mayor Mamdani help or hurt the morale of the NYPD?” Hunt asked Cuomo on Tuesday.

“Well, look, if you look at his prior statements, I think it would definitely hurt. Literally, he has said he was part of this defund the police movement. He has said that the police are a threat to public safety, that they are racists, that he would dismantle the police department. So these are all very harsh statements,” replied Cuomo. “I think it would be very hard to recruit police who would want to work for a mayor who basically called, not basically, did call the police officers racist. I think he would aggravate what is already a bad situation. And I don’t think he understands the importance of the NYPD and the importance of public safety, you know? And something like this happens, and then it really is a reality check for all this political theory and political hype that we have going on in this country, with the extreme left postulating these theories that have no connection to reality.”

Asked specifically

about Mamdani’s reaction to the shooting, Cuomo knocked his rival for being on vacation in Uganda.

“Well, first of all he’s in Uganda on vacation,” answered the former New York governor. “And I’m sure he suggested that he feels remorse. How can you not? A police officer is killed, young family. But again, he has a consistent record that has gone back for years where he has been highly critical  — not just of the police department as an institution — but of the individual police officers. And you can’t take back 10 years of public statements, and very harsh public statements, and expect anyone to take you seriously.”

Hunt then followed up by asking Cuomo to elaborate on his claim that Mamdani would be “dangerous to the city.”

“Yeah, I think when you don’t understand and you don’t appreciate that you need to ensure public safety, if you don’t appreciate that in this city on any given day, anything can happen. You know, I was governor for 11 years, Kasie. And every morning, it could be, God forbid, another 9/11. It could be A Hurricane Sandy. It could a Covid pandemic. And this city is very diverse, very concentrated, it is a delicate balance. And public safety is job one,” argued Cuomo. “And when you talk about defunding the police, dismantling the police department, that

they are racists, that they are anti-queer, and you demoralize them to the point where they’re quitting at record levels, you can’t hire new police, that is a dangerous situation. You’re creating a dangerous situation. And in New York City, that’s not something that you fool around with, frankly. You don’t play politics with public safety, in my opinion. And I get, you know, the slogans of the far-left, and I understand the politics of that. But, you know, this politics and this government, and public safety is a fundamental governmental responsibility. And that line between political rhetoric and governmental responsibility is very important, and I don’t think he respects it.”

In past statements, Mamdani has deemed the NYPD “racist, anti-queer and a major threat to public safety,” as well as called for it to be “defunded” and “dismantled.”

Watch above via CNN.

Tags: Andrew Cuomo, NYPD, police, Zohran Mamdani