Andrew Cuomo Claims 'Diversity Can Be A Weakness'

New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo said “diversity can be a weakness” when asked to condemn Islamophobic remarks about his opponent Zohran Mamdani.

“As New York governor for 11 years and attorney general, our diversity is our strength,” Cuomo, who is running for mayor as an independent and trailing in the polls, said Saturday on MSNBC. “But it can also be a weakness, so you have to work very, very hard to make sure you’re always keeping people united, and there’s always flare-ups among different races, religions, creeds for one reason or another.”

MSNBC Eugene Daniels, who appeared shocked at Cuomo’s comment, asked Cuomo to “correct the record” if he didn’t mean to say that. Cuomo doubled down.

“Diversity can be a weakness if you have antipathy among groups, Jonathan,” Cuomo said, getting Daniels’ name wrong.

Cuomo continued: “If you have racism or antisemitism, etc. So then you’d have friction, right? Which we have had in New York, and so you have to work very hard to keep it as a positive and to make sure that it’s not a negative, and you have zero tolerance for any racism, any antisemitism, etc.”

In a comment to HuffPost, a representative for Cuomo said, “It’s what he says all the time, New York’s diversity is its greatest strength and if the forces of hate and division are allowed to take hold, it weakens us from within. Those trying to make this anything other than what it is are desperately trying to gaslight their way through this election.”

Cuomo’s answer came after he was asked about his appearance on a radio show a few weeks ago. On the radio show, Cuomo laughed along with conservative radio personality Sid Rosenberg after Rosenberg said Mamdani, who is Muslim, would cheer if another Sept. 11 happened. After Cuomo laughed, he said, “That’s another problem. But can you imagine that? If Mamdani was in the seat on 9/11, what would have happened to this city?”

Cuomo said on MSNBC that Rosenberg “made that comment as a joke” and Cuomo didn’t correct him because “he was not my supporter.”

He also added he didn’t recall current New York City Mayor Eric Adams making an Islamophobic comment while endorsing Cuomo on Oct. 23.

When MSNBC host Jacqueline Alemany asked if Cuomo condemned Islamophobic comments about Mamdani, Cuomo said “100%.”

“I condemn Islamophobic comments, antisemitic comments, racist comments, bigoted comments, anti-Italian comments, of course,” Cuomo said.

After Cuomo’s appearance on Rosenberg’s show, Mamdani called Cuomo’s remarks “disgusting.”

“This is Andrew Cuomo’s final moments in public life, and he’s choosing to spend them making racist attacks on the person who would be the first Muslim to lead the city,” Mamdani said on PIX11 News.

“And frankly, it’s not about me, it’s about the fact that there are more than 1 million Muslims who live in New York City,” he continued. “And to have our faith be smeared and slandered by someone who at one point was considered a leader in the Democratic Party, showcases the fact that bigotry and racism is not exclusively a Republican problem. It is also a problem within our own party.”