"After what were widely considered lackluster, low-energy performances in his previous debate appearances this year, Cuomo showed a lot more fire and seemed less flummoxed in this final debate. His attacks on Mamdani had more bite, his policy answers were sharper, and in general he seemed more like the politician people probably remember from before he was forced to resign as governor."
"There were some brutal personal attacks during the debate. Cuomo repeatedly derided Mamdani as both a know-nothing kid out of his depth and a slick-talking politician, and at times seemed visibly disgusted at his rival. There were also weird moments like when Cuomo characterized one of Mamdani's responses as him doing a "Tik Tok dance," which Cuomo said while imitating a little dance himself."
"Mamdani didn't dance when talking about Cuomo, but he did throw some rhetorical roundhouses, and one of the most memorable moments of the debate was when he directly confronted Cuomo with specific sexual harassment allegations made by one of the former governor's accusers, who was in the audience (more on that in a minute)."
Cuomo returned to a more forceful debate presence, delivering crisper policy answers and sharper attacks on Mamdani while appearing energized by a vocal contingent of supporters. The exchange grew intensely personal, with Cuomo deriding Mamdani as out of his depth and mocking a response as a "Tik Tok dance." Mamdani responded with aggressive rhetorical blows and directly confronted Cuomo with sexual harassment allegations cited by an accuser seated in the audience. Sliwa remained largely sidelined but interjected loudly on criminal justice, invoking his son's assault and urging tougher penalties for young violent offenders.
Read at Intelligencer
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