Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, the front-runner in New York City’s mayoral race, is facing increasing criticism after a series of recent interviews and forums where he failed to provide direct answers on major issues confronting the city, as reported [1] by the New York Post.
At a public safety forum hosted Monday at Columbia Journalism School by the school and Vital City, Mamdani avoided giving a clear response when asked if he supported school safety agents in public schools.
“I think it is an indication of this broken status quo that we have many schools where they will have a school safety agent, but they will not have a nurse or a social worker … and I’ve been critical of that approach to our school system,” he said to moderator Errol Louis.
The exchange followed a weekend of similar media appearances where Mamdani offered lengthy statements that observers said sidestepped key questions.
Political insiders noted that his shift from a Democratic primary challenger to the leading City Hall candidate has exposed a lack of concrete plans.
“He is about to find out charisma and charm are not answers,” one longtime political operative said. “Tough choices have to be made and as the young, inexperienced front-runner, he doesn’t want to make them.”
On CNN last Friday, Mamdani was asked by anchor Abby Phillip whether he would request National Guard assistance on the subways if President Trump deployed federal agents to New York.
Mamdani instead replied, “We have a responsibility to address the struggles that New Yorkers are living through. And one thing I’ll say about Donald Trump is he often diagnoses actual despair that people are living through.” He did not answer the question directly.
When asked about whether trillionaires should exist, after previously stating billionaires should not, Mamdani shifted focus, saying:
“I think the better question is whether working people should exist, because what we’re seeing right now is amidst this incredible wealth, we have people who are keeping the city running that have to now live outside of the city, outside of the state.”
On CBS2 New York’s “The Point with Marcia Kramer” Sunday, Mamdani again avoided direct answers, including on his past support for defunding the police.
He said those positions were “out of step with the campaign that we are running.” He also criticized independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, saying Cuomo preferred to debate a “mythical version” of him rather than his current platform.
Questions about how Mamdani would fund his $10 billion agenda also went unanswered. Instead, he pointed to raising revenue from corporations by aligning New York City’s top tax rate with New Jersey’s, a proposal Governor Kathy Hochul has already dismissed.
Ken Frydman, a Democratic political consultant, said Mamdani has had months since winning the nomination to produce details for proposals such as his planned $1 billion Department of Community Safety.
“But Mamdani has no plans for making any of his socialist policy initiatives a reality,” Frydman said.
At Monday’s forum, Mamdani also avoided giving a clear stance on how police should handle protesters blocking traffic and bridges, instead reiterating his opposition to the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group.
Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute who attended the event, warned, “If you tolerate civil disobedience, you’re going to have chaos in the city.”
Another Democratic operative added that Mamdani appears to be “coming back down to earth,” comparing his vagueness to current Mayor Eric Adams.
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo responded directly, calling Mamdani a “mythical creation — just a series of tweets and TikToks. He doesn’t exist except on social media.”
Cuomo questioned Mamdani’s credibility, adding, “If I couldn’t believe what you said before, why would I believe what you say now?”
Mamdani’s spokeswoman Dora Pekec dismissed Cuomo’s criticisms, saying the former governor had spent his campaign “in hiding” and pointing out that Mamdani has consistently engaged with the public to present his vision for New York City.