Cuomo Campaign Pulls Controversial Ad

New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo’s campaign withdrew an AI-generated advertisement that depicted his rival, Zoran Mamdani, in a negative light, portraying his supporters as criminals and vagrants.

The ad included imagery of Mamdani’s followers engaging in various crimes, such as robbery and drunk driving. It was initially shared late Wednesday but was taken down shortly after.

Mamdani responded to the ad via social media, labeling it as “simply disgusting.”

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for Cuomo’s campaign, mentioned that the video was “posted in error” and that it was “not yet finished.”

The release of the ad coincided with a debate held Wednesday night among Cuomo, Mamdani, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.

During the debate, Mamdani and Sliwa brought up past sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, as well as his perceived failure to engage with Muslim voters while in office. They acknowledged his previous involvement in pandemic-related policies that forced nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients.

Cuomo retaliated by questioning Mamdani’s competence, criticizing his lack of experience in running any operations and suggesting that he had never held a legitimate job. He referred to Mamdani as a “divisive force” in New York politics.

Both campaigns did not respond immediately to requests for further comments.