NEW YORK — Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday accused Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani of political dishonesty, calling him a “fraud” and pointing to past remarks Mamdani made about tailoring his behavior to please others.
In a post on social media, Cuomo criticized Mamdani’s shift in tone ahead of the general election, accusing him of trying to mislead voters. “As Zohran Mamdani attempts to reinvent himself for the general election in an attempt to play New Yorkers for fools, remember what he himself has said in the past. He is a fraud,” Cuomo wrote.
Cuomo’s comments referenced a public statement Mamdani previously made about his communication style. “I know what someone wants to hear, right? I know what someone wants to hear to laugh. I know what someone wants to hear to feel whatever it might be,” Mamdani said. “In such an eagerness to make friends and be popular and whatever it might be, I would play to whatever X person needed from me as opposed to being who I actually wanted to be. It’s like being a great mirror, right, you know? You just give, you give people exactly what they want.”
Mamdani, who represents a Queens district in the New York State Assembly, has not yet publicly responded to Cuomo’s remarks. He is seeking re-election in a competitive race that has drawn attention from both progressive and establishment figures.
The former governor has increasingly reentered the political spotlight through public criticisms of Democratic officials and potential rivals.