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New Yorkers watched in real time as Zohran Mamdani performed a political somersault on one of the most serious questions of our time during the televised mayoral debate at Rockefeller Center. What should have been a straightforward condemnation of terrorism instead turned into evasions, clarifications, and what conservatives rightly see as a dangerous display of moral ambiguity.
Just a day after deflecting a direct question on national television, Mamdani stood on the debate stage and—after being pressed—said, “Of course I believe they should lay down their arms,” claiming his call for a ceasefire requires all parties to stop fighting. That change of tone didn’t erase his earlier hesitation, and it exposed a flip-flop that voters should find troubling when the safety of Jewish New Yorkers and the message we send to terrorists are at stake.
Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa didn’t let Mamdani hide behind platitudes; Cuomo grilled him for declining to denounce the slogan “globalize the intifada,” arguing Mamdani uses coded language that skirts Israel’s right to exist. Conservatives should note how often left-wing politicians trade clarity for clever phrasing—when the question is terror, vague moralizing is not a substitute for decisive leadership.
Mamdani has long styled himself as a progressive reformer who calls for ceasefires and castigates Israel over occupation and apartheid, yet he simultaneously insists he will protect Jewish communities in the city he wants to run. That contradiction—blaming one side while refusing blunt condemnation of violent actors—rings hollow to any voter who believes public safety comes before political theater.
This debate flip-flop matters because Mamdani is not a fringe name; he’s the frontrunner in a race that will decide who keeps our streets safe and who represents New York on the national stage. New Yorkers should ask themselves whether someone who hesitates to plainly name and condemn terror groups is fit to be mayor of the nation’s largest city.
Patriotic New Yorkers must demand clarity and courage from any candidate seeking the mayor’s office—especially on the existential questions of antisemitism and terrorism. If you care about law and order, about protecting families and synagogues, then don’t be fooled by last-minute wordsmithing; vote for leaders who will call evil by its name and stand with allies against terror.
