Former New York State Governor George Pataki accused New York's top three Democratic officials of “hiding in the weeds” rather than reveal whether they endorse or support the Democratic Party's nominee for Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani.
During a conversation with John Catsimatidis on WABC 770 AM's “Cats Roundtable” program, Pataki stated, “The mainstream media is not asking Jeffries, is not asking Schumer, is not asking Hochul, ‘Are you for Mamdani or not?’ Give us an answer. Don’t hide. They are all hiding."
He added, “You can’t really have a party that stands for anything when you have a Marxist running, and the three main leaders in New York of the Democratic Party - Jeffries, Schumer and Hochul - are all hiding in the weeds. Make them come out of the weeds. Are you for [Mamdani] or not?”
Pataki stated that courage was required from Democratic leaders now, because, “if they endorse Mamdani, they have endorsed an antisemite Marxist. If they don’t endorse him, then they’re going to get primaried by all these left-wing radicals."
“Where is the leadership? Are you going to support this left-wing antisemite? Or are you going to stand up for common sense? They’re afraid to do it. We can’t let them get away with it,” he added.
Two of the three leaders Pataki criticized have urged Mamdani to reassure the Jewish community in light of his defense of the phrase "Globalize Intifada" and extreme anti-Israel positions.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) stated in an interview with Punchbowl News last week that Mamdani’s failure to condemn the phrase "Globalize the intifada" will "be part of our discussion." The House Democratic leader emphasized the need for Mamdani "to reassure" the Jewish community and others that "he’s going to stand up for their safety and security."
New York Governor Kathy Hochul also said last Wednesday that she told Mamdani that he needs to make amends with the city’s Jewish community.
Speaking in an interview on MSNBC, Hochul said she told Mamdani, “‘You have a lot of healing to do with the Jewish community. Many of your words have been hurtful and hateful to people in their interpretation.”
“No one should have to worry about being in the city and feeling less safe because of who the mayor is and their religious beliefs. So that was important. I raised that concern,” Hochul added.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who is Jewish, refused to criticize Mamdani's extreme policies following his victory in last month's mayoral primaries and praised the self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist instead.
"I have known @ZohranKMamdani since we worked together to provide debt relief for thousands of beleaguered taxi drivers & fought to stop a fracked gas plant in Astoria,” Schumer wrote. “He ran an impressive campaign that connected with New Yorkers about affordability, fairness, & opportunity.”
Pataki served as Governor of New York from 1995 to 2006.