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New York City voters squandered an opportunity to prevent a far-left politician from rising to power by choosing Zohran Mamdani, said Jim McLaughlin, a pollster for President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, who labeled the candidate a “radical.”

“They missed their opportunity, unfortunately, in this race during the summer, the powers that be needed to expose Mamdani for the radical-leftist positions he’s taken,” McLaughlin said during an appearance on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America.”

“Most New Yorkers don’t realize how radical he is,” he continued.

McLaughlin, who is originally from the New York area, said it was especially troubling to see what he described as the birthplace of American capitalism embracing far-left politics.

“I’ve lived my entire life in the New York City metropolitan area, and the fact that the bastion of capitalism and freedom, New York City, is going to be governed by a Marxist, it’s just terrible,” he said.

He added that such leadership would be damaging beyond the city limits. “It’s terrible not just for New York, but also the surrounding areas, New Jersey and Connecticut, and it’s the last thing that the voters need after the failures of the last two mayors,” McLaughlin said.

Switching topics, McLaughlin addressed the attorney general race in Virginia, calling out controversial text messages allegedly sent in 2022 by Democrat nominee Jay Jones, in which he joked about shooting then–House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his family.

“Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat running for governor, has gone all in for the Democrat who made these [statements],” he said.

“There’s certain things that you say as an elected leader that are just indefensible, [like] wanting to murder not just your political opponents, but their children,” McLaughlin added.

He noted that polls indicate the attorney general contest is becoming increasingly competitive. “The last two media polls basically had the governor’s race getting closer and closer,” he said.

“They also have [Attorney General] Jason Miyares up by about five or six points, [so] I think it could be similar to what we saw after the first debate in the presidential race, where it takes some time for all this to come in,” McLaughlin observed.

Meanwhile, James Johnson, a pollster from JL Partners, told Newsmax on Friday that Republicans could make surprising progress in solidly Democratic New Jersey, though a full victory remains a long shot.

“Donald Trump did very well in New Jersey last year,” Johnson said. “Although he didn’t win the state, he did significantly better than Republican candidates have for a long time. It is possible, but I slightly doubt it. I think the Republican candidate will come close but not quite get over the edge.”

Johnson said a strong Republican turnout could reshape the political landscape going forward. “If Republicans do very well in New Jersey, and especially if they win the state, then we’ll see people looking at a slightly expanded map for 2026,” he said.

“Republicans will start to think, what about New Mexico? What about Minnesota?” Johnson added.

However, he cautioned that a poor showing would limit those ambitions. “If it’s another five-to-ten-point defeat, we’ll be back to talking about the classic swing states we’ve discussed over the last ten years,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

A top Kremlin official has suggested an ambitious new infrastructure project — a “Putin-Trump Tunnel” running beneath the Bering Strait — that would physically connect Russia and the United States, promote joint development of natural resources, and serve as a “symbol of unity” between the two powers.

The idea was presented by Kirill Dmitriev, President Vladimir Putin’s special investment envoy and head of Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund. His proposal envisions an $8 billion venture financed by Moscow along with “international partners,” creating a 70-mile (112-kilometer) rail and freight tunnel to be completed in less than eight years.

Dmitriev, who has been at the forefront of Moscow’s recent diplomatic outreach to Washington, floated the concept Thursday evening following a phone conversation between Putin and President Donald Trump, during which the two agreed to meet in Budapest to discuss possible steps toward ending the war in Ukraine.

“The dream of a US–Russia link via the Bering Strait reflects an enduring vision — from the 1904 Siberia–Alaska railway to Russia’s 2007 plan. RDIF has studied existing proposals, including the US–Canada–Russia–China railroad, and will support the most viable,” Dmitriev wrote on X.

The Bering Strait spans 51 miles (82 kilometers) at its narrowest point, separating Alaska from Russia’s Chukotka Peninsula. For more than a century and a half, engineers and political leaders have occasionally revived the idea of bridging or tunneling this stretch, though no proposal has ever advanced beyond the planning stage.

Dmitriev — who has developed ties with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, and discussed opportunities for U.S. energy companies to invest in Arctic ventures — proposed that the tunnel be built by The Boring Company, the U.S.-based tunneling enterprise founded by Elon Musk.

“Imagine connecting the US and Russia, the Americas and the Afro-Eurasia with the Putin-Trump Tunnel – a 70-mile link symbolizing unity. Traditional costs are $65B+, but @boringcompany’s tech could reduce it to <$8B. Let’s build a future together,” Dmitriev wrote to Musk on X.

Neither Musk nor Trump has issued a public reaction to the proposal.

Dmitriev also noted that a similar idea had been raised during the Cold War — a “Kennedy-Khrushchev World Peace Bridge” — and he shared an archival sketch showing the proposed route from that era, along with an updated map outlining the envisioned modern tunnel between Chukotka and Alaska.

“RDIF has already invested in and built the first ever Russia-China railroad bridge. The time has come to do more and connect the Continents for the first time in human history. The time has come to connect Russia and the US,” said Dmitriev.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump acknowledged that his newly announced 100% tariff on Chinese imports could not be sustained long-term, while insisting that China’s actions were responsible for the current breakdown in trade relations — a dispute that escalated after Beijing moved to tighten restrictions on rare earth exports.

When pressed about the potential impact of such a steep tariff and whether it could be maintained, Trump answered plainly, “It’s not sustainable, but that’s what the number is.”

“They forced me to do that,” he added during an interview with Fox Business Network that aired Friday morning.

Last week, Trump introduced a sweeping set of new trade measures, including a 100% tariff on all Chinese exports to the United States and upcoming export restrictions on “any and all critical software” beginning November 1 — just over a week before current tariff exemptions were due to expire.

These steps came in direct response to Beijing’s move to significantly expand its control over the export of rare earth elements, key materials used in advanced technology manufacturing. China remains the world’s dominant supplier of these strategic minerals.

Trump also confirmed that he would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea in two weeks — a summit he had previously suggested might not occur — and expressed a measure of respect for the Chinese leader.

“I think we’re going to be fine with China, but we have to have a fair deal. It’s got to be fair,” Trump said during the taped Fox Business interview on “Mornings with Maria.”

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s cabinet is scheduled to hold a vote on Sunday to change the official title of the ongoing conflict with Hamas and Iran-backed militias to “War of Revival.”

The initiative, advanced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, would replace the existing title, “Swords of Iron,” which the IDF adopted on October 7, 2023—the day Hamas launched its deadly assault on Israel and Netanyahu declared the country to be at war.

Netanyahu originally introduced the name “War of Revival” last year during a cabinet session marking the one-year anniversary of the conflict’s outbreak. At that time, he stated, “This is the war of our existence — the ‘War of Revival.’”

Some critics have argued that the move to rename the war is an effort by the government to deflect criticism over lapses leading up to and during the October 7, 2023, attack.

Although “Swords of Iron” remains the IDF’s official term, most Israelis continue to commonly refer to the ongoing campaign simply as the “October 7 war.”

{Matzav.com}

Aid trucks were spotted in Khan Younis as the UN reported that since the ceasefire, an average of 560 tons of food from the U.S. has been entering Gaza each day.

Israel announced Thursday that it intends to step up efforts to compel Hamas to return the bodies of 19 hostages still held in Gaza. Reports indicated that a specialized task force has already entered the Strip to assist in locating and recovering the remains.

A senior Israeli official told Channel 12 that despite Hamas’s claims to have already returned all the bodies it could find, “there is a double-digit number of hostages that it can return.” Meanwhile, Channel 13 reported that an international recovery team, acting on intelligence provided by Israel, entered Gaza within the last day to begin its search operations.

Since accepting the first phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace initiative, Hamas has handed over the bodies of nine hostages. The initial stage of the plan, finalized on Monday, also saw the release of the last 20 living captives still being held by terror groups in Gaza.

Under the ceasefire agreement, signed in Egypt on October 9, Hamas was obligated to free “all Israeli hostages, living and deceased,” within 72 hours of Israel’s partial troop withdrawal on October 10. The agreement, however, acknowledged that the recovery of some remains could take longer than the set deadline.

On Thursday night, Hamas claimed it could not return additional bodies without access to heavy machinery to remove debris, a statement that clashed with Israel’s position. An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that Jerusalem believes Hamas has the ability to return most of the 28 deceased hostages’ bodies within the timeframe originally established. The Wall Street Journal added that Israel has informed mediators Hamas knows the location of at least six more bodies. A senior official reiterated to Channel 12 that “there is a double-digit number of hostages that [Hamas] can return.”

Security officials, according to Channel 12, recommended that Israel consider restricting the entry of construction materials into Gaza or delaying the reopening of the Rafah Crossing for civilian movement until Hamas fulfills its obligations.

At the same time, Egypt conveyed a firm warning to Hamas to comply with the ceasefire terms, while reportedly urging Israel to avoid imposing additional punitive measures for the time being.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his advisers on Thursday to deliberate on possible actions to pressure Hamas further. Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for hostage affairs, informed the families of the deceased that the government intends to increase its pressure campaign but withheld specific details.

Israel has characterized Hamas’s limited cooperation on returning bodies as “a fundamental breach of the agreement.” The United States, however, has taken a more measured tone. “We will pursue the return of the bodies of the deceased until they all come home. And I’m confident they will all come home,” said White House envoy Steve Witkoff at a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum event on Thursday marking the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre that ignited the Gaza conflict.

Hamas issued a statement overnight asserting that recovering the remaining bodies will take time, alleging they are trapped under collapsed buildings or buried in tunnels destroyed during Israeli airstrikes.

Israel has countered that while some remains may indeed be inaccessible, Hamas is deliberately withholding others that it could easily hand over.

With differences emerging between Jerusalem and Washington over how to handle the impasse, Netanyahu spoke by phone with President Trump on Thursday night. According to Yisrael Hayom, Netanyahu updated Trump on Israel’s intended actions regarding Hamas’s refusal to return the bodies, and Trump voiced his full support.

A video aired overnight by Qatar’s Al-Jazeera showed what appeared to be Hamas members searching through the wreckage in Khan Younis, using bulldozers and other machinery to clear debris in their search for hostages’ remains.

Channel 13 later reported that a multinational team from the United States, Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar is already operating in Gaza to assist in locating the remaining bodies. Qatar has supplied “engineering equipment” to aid the mission, the network said.

Channel 12 noted that Israel has shared precise coordinates pinpointing sites believed to contain the hostages’ remains. A Turkish Defense Ministry official confirmed that “there is already a team of 81 AFAD staff there,” referring to Turkey’s disaster response agency, adding that “one team will be in charge of seeking and finding the bodies.”

{Matzav.com}

Israel is preparing to physically mark what will be known as the “yellow line” inside Gaza — a dividing line that will clearly separate territory under Israeli control from that still held by Hamas.

The new demarcation is intended to serve as both a visual and strategic warning, signaling to residents and militants exactly where the boundary lies, in hopes of preventing unauthorized crossings into zones secured by Israeli forces.

At present, the IDF maintains control over roughly half of Gaza. The new border will be visibly reinforced and physically defined by the military, effectively creating a line that functions as both a political and security barrier reflecting the current scope of the army’s operations within the Strip.

Defense Minister Yisroel Katz formally announced the decision on Friday morning, emphasizing that Israel will respond forcefully to any breaches. “Any violation or attempt to cross the line will be met with fire,” he warned, underscoring that the boundary will be strictly enforced.

{Matzav.com}

Vice President JD Vance said in an interview on Thursday that the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues without resolution because neither government has been willing to commit to a peace deal despite ongoing talks.

“As much as energetic diplomacy from the president of the United States can get people to the one-yard line, eventually you have to have the two parties who are willing to cut a deal,” Vance told Newsmax’s Greta Van Susteren on her program The Record With Greta Van Susteren.

“And right now, for all of our work, and we’re going to keep on working at it, the Russians and the Ukrainians are just not at the point where they can make a deal,” he said.

Still, Vance expressed optimism that an agreement could eventually be reached, noting that it would take considerably more effort. “I think there’s a fundamental misalignment of expectations, where the Russians tend to think that they’re doing better on the battlefield than they actually are,” he explained.

That misconception, he said, has complicated negotiations in recent months even though some movement toward dialogue has occurred.

Vance credited President Donald Trump’s diplomatic style with advancing talks further than previous U.S. efforts. “You know, I think that the thing that actually works in both cases is the Trump approach to diplomacy, which is energetic, that empowers his people on the ground, that actually encourages them to get a deal done and is willing to explore some unconventional means in order to get the deal done,” he said.

He added that the progress seen so far likely wouldn’t have happened without Trump’s direct involvement. “It turned out, as the president said, I think it surprised all of us, including the president, that this is a particularly tough nut to crack,” Vance said.

Discussing the administration’s economic strategy, Vance said tariffs have proven far more productive than traditional sanctions in pressuring Moscow. “You have to separate sanctions from tariffs,” he stated.

“Tariffs have been quite effective as a negotiating tool with the Russians,” he continued. “But sanctions have been tried for decades in this particular region of the world and all over the world, and I don’t think they actually work particularly well.”

Vance cautioned that sanctions often end up inflicting harm on the U.S. economy while failing to change Russia’s conduct. “The president has been very deliberate,” he said. “He hasn’t, you know, he doesn’t just apply blanket sanctions.”

He also noted that Trump has been engaging directly with major global economies to limit Moscow’s energy profits. “With the Russian case in particular, of course, a main driver of their economy is the oil that they sell to India and China,” he said.

“So he’s been working with both India and China to try to cut down on those oil sales, and again, in order to apply some pressure to the parties in the region to get peace,” said Vance, adding that Trump will “keep on aggressively working on it.”

Vance acknowledged that the drawn-out process has tested the administration’s patience. “Yes, it’s frustrating sometimes,” he admitted. “Yes, [Trump] gets impatient with everybody involved sometimes.”

Nevertheless, Vance said the president remains confident that persistence will ultimately pay off. “So long as he keeps working on it, I think the president has great confidence he can strike a deal,” Vance said. “I think that he will. It’s just a question of how long it’s going to take.”

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump has refiled his massive $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times, after a federal judge dismissed the earlier version for being excessively long.

The updated complaint, now properly formatted, was submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa. It accuses The New York Times of defamation based on two articles released in 2024, as well as a book written by two of the paper’s journalists the previous year. Trump is seeking $15 billion in damages, along with additional punitive compensation.

“President Trump is continuing to hold the Fake News responsible through this powerhouse lawsuit against the New York Times, its reporters, and Penguin Random House,” a spokesman for Trump’s legal team told Fox News Digital.

The lawsuit lists The New York Times Company, journalists Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, Peter Baker, and Michael S. Schmidt, as well as Penguin Random House, as defendants. Penguin Random House is the publisher of Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success, written by Craig and Buettner.

A spokesperson for The New York Times told Fox News Digital, “As we said when this was first filed and again after the judge’s ruling to strike it: this lawsuit has no merit. Nothing has changed today. This is merely an attempt to stifle independent reporting and generate PR attention, but The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics.”

Last month, the presiding judge instructed Trump’s legal team to revise and condense the original 85-page document into a shorter version not exceeding 40 pages, allowing them 28 days to do so. The new filing meets that requirement.

The updated complaint centers on allegations of defamation related to The Times’ coverage of Trump’s time as host of The Apprentice and its reporting on alleged questionable tax practices.

This case is one of several defamation lawsuits Trump has brought against major media organizations, including ABC News, CBS News, and The Wall Street Journal. Over the past year, Trump has reached significant settlements with both ABC and CBS.

In December, ABC resolved its case by contributing $15 million to a future presidential museum or foundation and covering $1 million in legal fees.

Trump also filed an “election interference” suit against CBS over its 60 Minutes interview with then–Vice President Kamala Harris, arguing that the network’s editing misled viewers. As CBS’s parent company, Paramount, prepared for an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, it agreed in July to settle the dispute for a figure reportedly approaching $30 million.

{Matzav.com}

Hamas is reportedly conducting excavations in the Hamad neighborhood of northern Khan Younis, reportedly searching for the remains of missing Israeli hostages. The direction of the digging suggests they may be uncovering a tunnel beneath the residential area.

New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani took direct aim at Andrew Cuomo during Thursday night’s debate, accusing the former New York governor of ignoring the city’s Muslim community throughout his decade in office.

“It took Andrew Cuomo being beaten by a Muslim candidate in the Democratic primary for him to set foot in a mosque,” Mamdani said during the live exchange. “He had more than ten years and he couldn’t name a single mosque at the last debate we had that he visited.”

Expanding on his criticism, Mamdani said, “What Muslims want in this city is what every community wants and deserves. They want equality and they want respect, and it took me to get you to even see those Muslims as part of this city, and that frankly is something that is shameful and is why so many New Yorkers have lost faith in this politics.”

When Cuomo objected, saying, “I’ve worked with the Muslim community for many, many years,” Mamdani immediately challenged him. “Name a single mosque you went to while you were the governor. Can you name a single mosque you went to in ten years?” he pressed.

Cuomo defended his record, insisting his outreach to Muslims dated back long before Mamdani’s entry into public life. “Before you were ever here, before you were even in state government, I worked with the Muslim community,” Cuomo responded. “Imams presided over state of the states. We worked in religious working groups, tolerance groups, anti-Semitic groups, etcetera.”

Mamdani ended the exchange with a sharp rebuke: “You couldn’t visit a mosque.”

Cuomo had recently visited a mosque for the first time while campaigning in his current race, an event that drew both attention and criticism.

The debate quickly grew tense as Cuomo, Mamdani, and Republican contender Curtis Sliwa sparred over their records, with Mamdani and Sliwa occasionally joining forces to confront Cuomo on stage.

{Matzav.com}

Former White House National Security Advisor John Bolton surrendered to federal authorities Friday after being indicted on 18 counts related to the improper handling of classified materials. Bolton was indicted on eight counts of transmission of national defense Information and ten counts of retention of national defense information. “From on or about April 9, 2018, through at least on or about August 22, 2025, BOLTON abused his position as National Security Advisor by sharing more than a thousand pages of information about his day-to-day activities as the National Security Advisor — including information relating to the national defense which was classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level — with two unauthorized individuals, namely Individuals 1 and 2,” the indictment reads. “BOLTON also unlawfully retained documents, writings, and notes relating to the national defense, including information classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level, in his home in Montgomery County, Maryland.” The documents Bolton allegedly transmitted were sent to two individuals unauthorized to view classified documents, the indictment said. Those documents, according to the indictment, revealed intelligence about future attacks by an adversarial group in another country, a liaison partner sharing sensitive information with the U.S. intelligence community, intelligence that a foreign adversary was planning a missile launch in the future and a covert action in a foreign country that was related to sensitive intergovernmental actions, among other information. “The FBI’s investigation revealed that John Bolton allegedly transmitted top secret information using personal online accounts and retained said documents in his house in direct violation of federal law,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The case was based on meticulous work from dedicated career professionals at the FBI who followed the facts without fear or favor. Weaponization of justice will not be tolerated, and this FBI will stop at nothing to bring to justice anyone who threatens our national security.” Bolton’s Maryland home had been raided by FBI agents in August. That search was focused on classified documents agents believed Bolton possessed. “Now, I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts,” Bolton said in a statement to The Associated Press, referencing President Donald Trump. Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, added to the AP that the “underlying facts in this case were investigated and resolved years ago.” “Bolton kept diaries — that is not a crime,” he said, noting that Bolton “did not unlawfully share or store any information.” Lowell told the AP that the charges Bolton faces are linked to portions of Bolton’s personal diaries and included unclassified information that was shared with only immediate family members. Lowell also said this was known to the FBI dating back to at least 2021.

BREAKING: Former National Security Adviser John Bolton has surrendered to federal authorities following an 18-count indictment over the mishandling of classified materials.

The IDF says it foiled several attempts to smuggle weapons and contraband from Egypt into Israel using drones early this morning. Troops intercepted multiple drones carrying assault rifles, magazines, ammunition, and other illicit items after they crossed the border.

Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that he has ordered the IDF to place physical markers along the so-called Yellow Line in Gaza — the boundary established under the current ceasefire — to clearly mark the limits of Israeli military control. He said the markers will serve as a warning to Hamas terrorists and Gaza residents that any attempt to cross or violate the line will be met with fire.

John Bolton, a long-standing figure in Republican foreign policy circles and one-time national security adviser, turned himself in to federal authorities on Friday following his indictment for alleged mishandling of classified information. The charges come after a federal grand jury issued an 18-count indictment accusing him of improperly keeping or transmitting sensitive government materials.

Bolton appeared at the federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, for his first hearing a day after the grand jury delivered the indictment. Prosecutors claim the 76-year-old retained and shared restricted national security documents during his time serving under President Trump, in violation of federal law.

According to the indictment, Bolton allegedly used a personal AOL email account to send some of the classified materials to individuals not authorized to receive them. The document further asserts that over 1,000 pages of sensitive notes were shared with his wife and daughter, neither of whom held the necessary security clearances.

Prosecutors also allege that Bolton transmitted information labeled “top secret” using various messaging platforms. The material reportedly included intelligence related to planned U.S. military operations and foreign adversaries, actions that investigators say violated strict national security protocols.

{Matzav.com}

The world was horrified months ago by a Hamas propaganda video showing Israeli hostage Evyatar David, frail and starving, digging what he said was his own grave. Now, a new Channel 13 investigation reveals the disturbing methods behind that footage, based on testimony from released captives and their families. According to the report, David and his fellow hostage, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, were intentionally starved and separated inside the tunnels so that they would appear skeletal on camera for “proof-of-life” recordings. Once the footage was completed, they were given food again. The August video, later released publicly with the family’s consent to expose Hamas’ cruelty, showed David emaciated and clutching a shovel deep underground.

In the chilling clip, David is seen marking off the passage of time on a crude calendar attached to the tunnel wall.

He was bare-chested, his ribs protruding sharply, his body a shadow of what it once was. Every muscle seemed wasted away, and he appeared to have been isolated for months without human contact or adequate nutrition. His arms looked so thin that his biceps were barely distinguishable from his forearms.

Hamas had also filmed David and Gilboa-Dalal watching other hostages being released, a deliberate act meant to torment them psychologically. Families say these orchestrated scenes were designed to destroy morale — the captors selectively showed moments of freedom to make those still imprisoned feel abandoned and hopeless.

Fresh accounts from recently freed hostages’ families have shed further light on the nightmare and the courage that persisted despite it. The mother of Elkana Bohbot told Israeli media that her son used bits of cloth and thread given by his captors to sew a small teddy bear for his young child, Re’em, while still in captivity. That handmade toy was seen in his hands when the two were finally reunited at Sheba Medical Center.

Speaking for the first time from his hospital bed, released hostage Maksim Herkin told Channel 13 that the public demonstrations in support of the captives were what gave him and others the strength to endure. “I said I would be back in the morning; it took me two years,” he said, offering an emotional apology to his mother and describing his return as “the victory of every citizen.”

In another testimony, the mother of Rom Braslavski detailed the mental and physical torment her son endured. She said Hamas guards kept him alone for long stretches and manipulated him with false news meant to convince him that Israel had fallen. For a time, he was so starved that he resorted to burning bits of clothing to boil pasta after being given only half a pita each night. She added that he wasn’t held in tunnels but was force-fed shortly before his release, leading to dangerous fluctuations in his blood sugar since his return.

{Matzav.com}

New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani accused Israel of committing “genocide” three times in the span of a few minutes during a heated debate Thursday night with rivals Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa. The exchange, aired live on NY1, opened with Cuomo accusing Mamdani of abandoning Democratic principles for urging voters to “leave it blank” in the presidential primaries — a protest against U.S. support for Israel. “You’re not even a Democrat,” Cuomo said, drawing applause from parts of the audience. Mamdani shot back sharply: “I said leave it blank in the presidential primary because primaries are a place to air dissent. And like many Americans, I was horrified by the Israeli genocide of Palestinians.” Pressed on his refusal earlier this week to call on Hamas to disarm, Mamdani appeared to walk back his comments. “Of course I believe that they should lay down their arms,” he said, before pivoting to accuse Israel again. “Calling for a ceasefire means ceasing fire — that means all parties have to cease fire and put down their weapons,” Mamdani said. “The reason we call for that is not only for the end to the genocide but also for unimpeded access to humanitarian aid.” He added that any peace framework must “address the conditions that preceded this — conditions like the occupation, the siege, and apartheid.” Mamdani also attacked Cuomo for volunteering to join Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s legal defense team at the International Court of Justice, calling it “disgraceful” and accusing Cuomo of aiding Israel “during the course of this genocide.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)