The political fallout from Monday’s deadly mass shooting in Midtown Manhattan has ignited a fierce war of words between New York’s two most prominent mayoral contenders, pitting law-and-order rhetoric against progressive reform in a high-stakes showdown that could reshape the race.

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent after losing the Democratic nomination, came out swinging Wednesday, branding Democratic Socialist nominee Zohran Mamdani as “anti-police” and “dangerous” in the wake of a shooting that left four dead, including a police officer.

“He has said the NYPD are racists, the police are a threat to public safety,” Cuomo said during a morning media appearance. “I think he’s dangerous because he doesn’t understand the need for public safety in this city.”

Cuomo’s remarks followed a growing chorus of criticism aimed at Mamdani, who was slow to respond publicly to the shooting while traveling abroad in Uganda for his wedding celebration. But it’s Mamdani’s history of anti-police rhetoric—particularly a series of 2020 tweets calling to “defund the NYPD”—that has once again come back to haunt him.

At a press conference later Wednesday, Mamdani pushed back, accusing Cuomo of exploiting a tragedy for political gain. “I know that Gov. Cuomo is far more comfortable in the past—whether it be his own or whether it be in attacking me for tweets made before I was even an Assembly member,” Mamdani said.

“These were comments made amidst the collective outrage that followed the murder of George Floyd. I’ve been focused since then on building a serious public safety plan—something Governor Cuomo doesn’t want to talk about.”

In a follow-up interview with Fox News Digital, the former governor defended his attacks as fair game. “This isn’t politicizing a tragedy. This is the political discussion voters deserve. Public safety is the issue.”

Cuomo warned that Monday’s shooting has reawakened old fears in a city already grappling with rising crime and a mental health crisis. “New Yorkers have PTSD—from 9/11, from subway attacks, from violence in our streets. It only takes one person with an assault weapon to bring chaos. This race is now about who can keep New Yorkers safe.”

Mamdani, 33, stunned political observers last month by edging out Cuomo and nine other candidates to win the Democratic mayoral nomination in deep-blue New York City. But his past calls to dismantle the NYPD and reduce police funding—paired with what critics call a lackluster response to this week’s mass shooting—are threatening to define his candidacy.

The mass shooting, New York City’s deadliest in 25 years, has become a flashpoint for the public safety debate. Cuomo’s team is betting that voters shaken by the violence will view him as the steadier, more experienced choice—especially compared to a self-described socialist with a history of attacking police.

But Mamdani, in his first major public appearance since the shooting, sought to recast the narrative. “We are not going back to the politics of fear,” he said. “The politics that use tragedy to score cheap points while ignoring the real work of reform and safety. That’s the Cuomo way. That’s the old way.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)