"There was a moment midway through the New York City mayoral debate last night that perfectly captured how drastically out of touch mainstream, establishment Democrats are with their constituents. At stage left was the front-runner, state assemblymember Zohran Mamdani; on the right, disgraced former governor and sex pest Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 after New York Attorney General Letitia James concluded that he'd sexually harassed multiple women and illegally retaliated against at least one when she complained publicly. The Department of Justice last year put the number of Cuomo's victims at 13. Between the two was Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, founder of grassroots crime-fighting group Guardian Angels. He was without his signature red beret."
"Moderator Sally Goldenberg, senior New York editor at Politico, prodded Cuomo about his resounding 12-point loss to Mamdani in the Democratic primary three months ago. She repeated words Cuomo said at the time, which he attributed to his grandfather: "When you get knocked down, learn the lesson and pick yourself back up and get in the game." Goldenberg asked: What lesson did Cuomo learn? Did it indicate anything he did wrong or something he needed to change about himself?"
""I think in the primary campaign, I did not do enough on social media," Cuomo responded. "That has changed now." He began to monologue about how the people of New York need a manager to get things done. Goldenberg stopped him. "This is a question about self-reflection, is the thing you're reflecting on the most that you need to be on social media more? Was there any other deeper lesson?" "Between the two campaigns, social media, more accessibility," Cuomo responded. Mamdani interjected. "I just have to say, it's been an hour and 20 minutes of this debate and we haven't heard Governor Cuomo say the word 'affordability.' That's why he lost the primary. That's why he'll lose the general election.""
During a New York City mayoral debate, front-runner Zohran Mamdani, former governor Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa appeared onstage. Cuomo resigned in 2021 after Letitia James concluded he sexually harassed multiple women and illegally retaliated; the Department of Justice later identified 13 victims. Moderator Sally Goldenberg pressed Cuomo on his 12-point primary defeat and asked what lessons he learned. Cuomo replied that he lacked sufficient social media engagement and promised increased accessibility and management. Mamdani criticized Cuomo for failing to mention affordability, arguing that neglect of that issue cost Cuomo the primary and will cost him the general election.
Read at The American Prospect
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