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Sparks fly as Cuomo, Mamdani tear into each other during fiery debate: ‘Toxic energy’
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Front-runners for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo, wasted little time attacking each other on alleged personal scandals they have been involved in during a Wednesday night debate between the pair and GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Mamdani and Sliwa took the opportunity during Wednesday’s debate to drill down on past sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, the former governor of New York, ahead of an impeachment inquiry that preceded Cuomo’s 2021 resignation. Cuomo was also hit by Mamdani over accusations he has – while in public office – failed to meet with Muslim constituents and only began doing so amid pressure from his mayoral campaign, and over his alleged poor handling of the COVID-19 virus in New York after Cuomo was party to issuing guidance forcing nursing homes and long-term care facilities to admit COVID-19 positive patients.
Meanwhile, Cuomo did not hold back on targeting Mamdani over alleged controversies that have embattled his campaign. Cuomo blasted the self-proclaimed socialist over his lack of experience, ties to radical politics, and past radical comments about law enforcement, Israel and the situation in Gaza.
FBI AGENTS FROM ’93 WTC ATTACK BLAST MAMDANI FOR EMBRACING RADICAL IMAM
All three candidates for NEw York City governor debated Wednesday night. From left to right: Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa and Zohran Mamdani. (Photo by Angelina Katsanis-Pool/Getty Images)
«My main opponent has no new ideas. He has no new plan. … He’s never run anything, managed anything. He’s never had a real job,» Cuomo said of Mamdani during the debate. Cuomo also branded Mamdani as someone who has proven to be «a divisive force in New York,» pointing to past incidents that have garnered Mamdani heat from critics.
One of those incidents included a picture he took with a hard-lined Ugandan lawmaker who has pushed policies of imprisoning people for being gay, which Mamdani took while taking a break from the campaign trail to visit his home country of Uganda for a wedding. Cuomo also hit the controversy over whether Mamdani supports Jewish New Yorkers, as his critics have claimed he is anti-Israel pointing to statements he has made, like «globalize the intifada.»
Cuomo also accused Mamdani of disrespecting Italian-Americans after a video of him surfaced giving the middle finger to a statue of Christopher Columbus, while also pointing to criticism the self-proclaimed socialist candidate has garnered from 9/11 first-responders after posting a photo with a Muslim cleric who served as a character witness for the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 attacks.
TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM FIERY NYC MAYORAL DEBATE: ‘HE LITERALLY HAS NEVER HAD A JOB’
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (left) shakes hands on the debate stage with Democratic Party candidate for New York City mayor (right) Zohran Mamdani. Cuomo is running as an Independent after lsoing to Mamdani in the primary election. (Photographer: Angelina Katsanis/AP)
«You have been a divisive force in New York, and I believe that’s toxic energy for New York. It’s with the Jewish community. It’s with the Italian-American community – when you give the Columbus statue the finger. It’s with the Sunni Muslims when you say decriminalize prostitution, which is Haram. It’s the Hindus,» Cuomo continued. «Then, you take a picture with Rebecca Kadaga, deputy Prime Minister of Uganda. … She’s known as Rebecca ‘Gay Killer.’ … You’re a citizen of Uganda. You took the picture. You said you didn’t know who she was. It turns out you did. How do you not renounce your citizenship or demand BDS against Uganda for imprisoning people who are gay just by their sexual orientation? Isn’t that a basic violation of human rights?»
Mamdani shot back that his politics have remained «consistent» and that they are built on a belief in human rights for all people, including LGBTQ+ folks. Had he known Kadga’s role in drafting legislation to imprison gay folks, Mamdani said, he never would have taken the picture.
«This constant attempt to smear and slander me is an attempt to also distract from the fact that, unlike myself, you do not actually have a platform or a set of policies,» Mamdani shot back at Cuomo before introducing his own claims about the former governor regarding past accusations of sexual harassment.
MAMDANI RIPPED BY RIVALS FOR UNPOPULAR STANCE DURING FIERY NYC DEBATE: ‘YOU WON’T SUPPORT ISRAEL’
New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo slammed his democratic socialist opponent Zohran Mamdani during Wednesday’s debate for a variety of alleged scandals he has been involved in. (Angelina Katsanis/Getty; Angelina Katsanis/Getty)
«Mr. Cuomo. In 2021, 13 different women who worked in your administration credibly accused you of sexual harassment. Since then, you have spent more than $20 million in taxpayer funds to defend yourself, all while describing these allegations as entirely political,» Mamdani said while attacking Cuomo Wednesday night.
«You have even gone so far as to legally go after these women. One of those women, Charlotte Bennett, is here in the audience this evening. You sought to access her private gynecological records. She cannot speak up for herself because you lodged a defamation case against her. I, however, can speak. What do you say to the 13 women that you sexually harassed?»
Cuomo, in 2021, was accused of multiple incidents of sexual harassment that preceded his resignation as governor that year. A subsequent report from New York Attorney General Letitia James confirmed Cuomo «sexually harassed multiple women from 2013 through 2020,» while in January 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it had reached a nearly $500,000 settlement with Cuomo’s executive office over one of the claims. However, no criminal charges were ever filed against Cuomo, with some district attorneys citing insufficient evidence.
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Cuomo defended himself against Mamdani’s accusations, noting the cases were eventually dropped, before returning to questions about Mamdani’s alleged past.
Meanwhile, Sliwa didn’t skip an opportunity to slam Cuomo over the sexual assault allegations either, saying early in the debate during a discussion about homelessness that Cuomo «fled» the governor’s office amid an impeachment inquiry that was investigating him.
«Andrew, you didn’t ‘leave.’ You fled from being impeached by the Democrats in the state legislature,» Sliwa began before getting into the homelessness issue, earning him a round-of-applause from the audience.
«‘Leave?’ You fled!» Sliwa continued to applause. «But let’s get back on topic.»
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Mexican leaders want US help against cartels
Mexican Senator Lilly Téllez joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss growing tensions between President Trump and Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro as the U.S. boosts its military presence in the region to target drug boats and cartels.
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FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump will host a roundtable at the White House Thursday afternoon with law enforcement and administration officials to discuss the successes of the Homeland Security Task Forces, which the president established on his first day in office to snuff out threats from criminal cartels in the U.S.
«The President’s Homeland Security Task Forces are a landmark achievement that highlight what the federal government can achieve with a leader like President Trump who is willing to slash red tape, increase coordination and put the safety of the American people first,» White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital of the event.
«In a short period of time, the Trump Administration has removed lethal drugs, illegal weapons, dangerous foreign terrorists and cartel members from American communities,» she added. «The American people are safer today because of the HSTFs — and they’re just getting started.»
Trump established the creation of Homeland Security Task Forces Jan. 20 — his first day back in office — via executive order, «Protecting the American People from Invasion.» The executive order directed Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to establish such task forces in each state as part of the administration’s efforts to thwart cartels and human trafficking networks operating on U.S. soil.
WAR DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES NEW COUNTER-NARCOTICS TASK FORCE UNDER TRUMP DIRECTIVE TO CRUSH CARTELS
President Donald Trump is slated to hold a roundtable with administration officials to discuss updates on the Homeland Security Task Forces. ( Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The executive order specifically directed the task forces to «end the presence of criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations throughout the United States, dismantle cross-border human smuggling and trafficking networks, end the scourge of human smuggling and trafficking, with a particular focus on such offenses involving children, and ensure the use of all available law enforcement tools to faithfully execute the immigration laws of the United States.»
On Thursday, administration officials will join Trump to provide updates on the task forces’ efforts.
The roundtable will be joined by Deputy Chief of Staff and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller, Noem, Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, FBI Director Kash Patel and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Fox News Digital learned.
TRUMP SENDS MILITARY AFTER THE CARTELS AND IT’S LONG OVERDUE
A January executive order directed Attorney General Pam Bondi, here, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to establish such task forces in each state as part of the administration’s efforts to thwart cartels and human trafficking networks operating on U.S. soil. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital learned that the task forces nationwide became fully operational at the end of August and have yielded thousands of arrests, and the removal of dangerous drugs and illegal firearms from U.S. streets.
BONDI SAYS HUMAN SMUGGLING IS ‘GETTING PEOPLE KILLED’ ACROSS US AS SHE ANNOUNCES CRACKDOWN
More than 3,000 foreign terrorists and cartel members were arrested as part of the task forces’ operations, including members of notoriously dangerous gangs such as the Sinaloa Cartel, MS-13 and Cartel Jalisco Nuevo Genaracion, Fox News Digital learned.
President Donald Trump will host a roundtable at the White House Oct. 23, 2025, with law enforcement and administration officials, like Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)
The task forces also have recovered two million fentanyl pills and seven tons of other deadly narcotics, seized $3 million in currency and removed more than 1,000 illegal guns from U.S. communities.
Trump campaigned, in part, on removing violent illegal immigrants and crime from U.S. communities, spotlighting the efforts in his address before Congress back in March 2025.
«The territory to the immediate south of our border is now dominated entirely by criminal cartels that murder, rape, torture and exercise total control. They have total control over a whole nation. posing a grave threat to our national security,» Trump said at the time. «The cartels are waging war in America, and it’s time for America to wage war on the cartels.»
The roundtable comes as the U.S. military carries out strikes on suspected drug cartel vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. The strikes began in September and are part of Trump’s broader effort to dismantle transnational cartels by force.
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Trump held a similar roundtable at the White House earlier in October, inviting independent journalists who have experienced Antifa’s violence firsthand to speak about their experiences as the administration targets the left-wing group’s protests outside immigration facilities and recently designating it a «domestic terrorist organization.»
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Amiram Cooper. Foto: AP 
Fotografía cedida por la embajada de Israel en Berlín que muestra al soldado israelí Hadar Goldin. Foto: EFE
Hoy se confirmó que Lior Rudaeff, israelí-argentino de 61 años, fue asesinado el 7 de octubre por los terroristas de Hamás. Su cuerpo fue secuestrado y sigue en GazaINTERNACIONAL
Maine Dem Senate hopeful backed by Bernie Sanders apologizes for Nazi-style tattoo, vows to stay in race
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Maine Democrat Graham Platner, a first-time Senate candidate backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., says he has covered up a tattoo widely recognized as a Nazi symbol after critics unearthed old social media posts and demanded he quit the race.
Platner’s campaign is facing intense scrutiny after it was revealed he once had a skull-and-crossbones tattoo resembling the Totenkopf used by Hitler’s SS paramilitary forces.
Platner said he got the tattoo in 2007 during a «night of drinking» while on leave in Croatia in the Marine Corps and claimed he did not know its historical associations at the time. He has since covered the image with another tattoo.
DELETED POSTS URGING VIOLENCE HAUNT DEMOCRATIC SENATE HOPEFUL IN MAINE RACE
In a video posted to Instagram Wednesday afternoon, Platner elaborated that the design was chosen from a flash tattoo wall while «carousing» with fellow Marines in Split, Croatia.
«We thought it looked cool,» he said.
He claimed he had «lived a life dedicated to anti-fascism, anti-racism and anti-Nazism» and was «appalled» to learn it resembled a hate symbol.
Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, points to a covered tattoo that had previously been an image recognized as a Nazi symbol, during an interview Wednesday in Portland, Maine. (WGME via AP)
Platner said he had never been questioned about the tattoo during his service and passed Army background checks.
He told The Associated Press he chose to cover rather than remove the tattoo due to a lack of removal services near his home in rural Maine.
«Going to a tattoo removal place is going to take a while,» Platner said. «I wanted this thing off my body.»
In the video, Platner said he had the symbol inked over with a Celtic knot and imagery of dogs, a tribute to his family pets.
«This far more represents who I am now than even the skull and crossbones did,» he said, lifting his shirt to reveal the new tattoo.
REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER DIRECTS INVESTIGATION AFTER SWASTIKA VANDALISM DISCOVERED IN DC OFFICE
U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, D-Maine, speaks at a town hall at the Franco Center Oct. 15, in Lewiston, Maine. (Libby Kenny/Sun Journal via AP)
The controversy comes on the heels of deleted Reddit posts in which Platner appeared to mock military sexual assault victims, criticize police and make racially-charged comments about tipping.
Platner since apologized and blamed the posts on depression and PTSD after his military service in Afghanistan. He has vowed to stay in the race and has the backing of Sanders.
Jordan Wood, a Democratic rival in the primary and former chief of staff to Rep. Katie Porter, is calling on Platner to drop out.
«Graham Platner’s Reddit comments and Nazi SS Totenkopf tattoo are disqualifying and not who we are as Mainers or as Democrats,» Wood said in a statement. «With Donald Trump and his sycophants demonizing Americans, spewing hate and running roughshod over the Constitution, Democrats need to be able to condemn Trump’s actions with moral clarity. Graham Platner no longer can.»
Platner said he believes the controversy is part of his life story, not disqualifying.
U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, D-Maine, acknowledges a large crowd during a town hall Sept. 25, in Portland, Maine. (Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald via AP)
«I don’t look at this as a liability. I look at this as a life that I have lived, a journey that has been difficult, that has been full of struggle, that has also gotten me to where I am today,» Platner told the AP. «And I’m very proud of who I am.»
He blamed «establishment» forces for amplifying the backlash to derail his campaign.
«Every second we spend talking about a tattoo I got in the Marine Corps is a second we don’t talk about Medicare for all,» Platner said in the video.
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He is running in a packed Democratic primary against Wood and two-term Gov. Janet Mills.
GOP Sen. Susan Collins, who has held the seat for three decades, has not yet commented on the controversy.
Sanders and Collins did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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