NYC mayoral race final debate takeaways

Less than 24 hours after the two appeared together courtside at last night's New York Knicks game, New York Mayor-- which occurred after the mayor's debate, this last of the campaign, Mayor Eric Adams, who's not in the race any longer, endorsed former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Am I angry that I'm not the one taking down Zohran, the socialist and the communist? You're darn right I am. But you know what? This city means more to me than anything. And it is time for us as a family to come together. I want to bring in our political panel, Republican strategist Matt Gorman, Democratic strategist Adam Jentleson. Gentlemen, it's great to have you here. Thanks so much. Thank you. So glad you get the no-necktie vibe. I deeply appreciate that. Yeah, man. Of course. All right, Adam, I want your thoughts on what's going on in New York City. What does it mean, or what does it not mean, for the future of the Democratic Party? Well, I think what Zohran Mamdani-- who is the presumptive winner, I think is likely to win this race-- is going to show is how Democrats can effectively drive a message that's focused on affordability, which is something that Democrats of all ideological stripes want to do. I think Democrats would be wise to copy certain things from the Mamdani campaign, such as his use of social media, his positive, patriotic, smiling presentation, his energetic presence. But perhaps not all of his ideological positions are going to translate in other areas of the country.

Matt?

I will say this. Like, I'll give Mamdani some credit. Him and AOC are both interesting to listen to. Candidates-- that's a capacity and personality trait they share with Trump, right? Most politicians are not particularly good to listen to. They are interesting. I'll say this. You have Cuomo and Eric Adams at a Knick game or doing some endorsements. Would have been great in July if they wanted to actually affect the race. [LAUGHS] Again-- A little late. --congratulations. He had two weeks left. Look, I think Sliwa has a little bit of, at least, momentum in earned media recently. I don't think it's going to amount to much.

Curtis Sliwa is the Republican nominee, someone who's been around New York and New York issues for quite some time. They all had their last debate last night. And the Donald Trump of it all came up, and they all had something to say, as you might imagine. Let's listen to that. With Trump, it's always the art of the deal. You have to go. You have to try to negotiate, whether it's with his minions or himself. You're going to have to confront President Trump. He is hyper-aggressive. And he is going to overstep his bounds. He has said he'll take over New York if Mamdani wins. And he will because he has no respect for him. You could turn on TV any day of the week, and you will hear Donald Trump share that his pick for mayor is Andrew Cuomo. And he wants Andrew Cuomo to be the mayor, not because it will be good for New Yorkers, but because it will be good for him. Mamdani, Zohran Mamdani also brought up Andrew Cuomo's past and an investigation and revelations about sexual harassment when he was governor. And he did a very dramatic thing in the midst of that debate. Watch. Mr. Cuomo, in 2021, 13 different women who worked in your administration credibly accused you of sexual harassment. One of those women, Charlotte Bennett, is here in the audience this evening. You sought to access her private gynecological records. She cannot speak up for herself because you lodged a defamation case against her. I, however, can speak. What do you say to the 13 women that you sexually harassed? All right, Adam Jentleson, you have been in-- and you have, too, Matt Gorman-- been in preps for things like this. You know that these things are available, and then you make a tactical decision whether or not to use them. Why do you think this happened in the course of that very last debate? And do you think it signals anything that Mamdani has picked up that Cuomo is getting any closer, needs to be put away? I don't think that Cuomo is getting any closer. I think this is sort of an attempt to just keep him from gaining any momentum and to distract him during the debate, to help keep him off his game and help him not have a good debate. That would be the kind of thing that could gain momentum. And I think it was very effective at that. I mean, this is not ancient history we're talking about here. These are accusations from just a few years ago. I thought Zohran's presentation was very powerful, saying this woman cannot speak because she's under an NDA, but I can speak for her. I thought that was a very effective thing to do. And Matt, you know that these things are also-- they carry their own sort of danger. If you screw it up or if you look like you're being manipulative or unsympathetic or just being hyper-political about it, it can blow up in your face. It's very tactical. It reminds me, actually, of another moment, Liz Warren and a New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg, with the NDAs back in the primary debates in 2020. What's an underrated part of debate prep is saving that metaphorical hit that you don't preview at all during the course of the campaign. Save it for a live onstage thing. Mamdani did it here. I remember JD Vance doing it against Tim Ryan back in his first Senate race. There was something there. In Ohio. Yes, exactly. That's an underutilized, undervalued part of debate prep.

So something is going on in Maine with the Senate race-- Yeah. [LAUGHTER] --Graham Platner and the tattoos. So he was on Pod Save America,and he did this. [LIVELY CHATTER]

(SINGING) All you ever did was wreck me I came in like a wrecking ball The reason we are showing this video is because at the very end, you can see a tattoo on your chest. I've been told that some of your political opponents are telling reporters that that tattoo has a Nazi affiliation. The fact that I've managed to go from communist to Nazi in the space of four days, according to the people who are trying to, whatever, do this to me, I find to be quite a spectacular turn of events. Adam, Graham Platner, an oyster fisherman or oysterman in Maine, progressive, running against Janet Mills, governor. Assess what he's going through--

Sure. --what this race might or might not represent. He's a progressive. He's a small business owner. He's also a veteran. And I think part of what this is bringing out is this is a core part of his story. This is a guy who enlisted, served three tours in Fallujah, went back to serve with Blackwater. This is a guy whose service and commitment to service is--

And has talked about PTSD and the like. And has been very open about that, as many veterans-- things have experienced. And I think what people are finding with him is that they're finding this to be very relatable. A poll came out today showing him up 58 to 24 over the--

Over Janet. --incumbent Democratic governor. People seem to be connecting with his authenticity. And I think that's something Democrats should pay attention to. And Matt, this is a classic establishment figure against a Up-and-Comer with maybe some skeletons, maybe not, but also an attitude and an approachability that may prove valuable. Skeletons in the closet and on his chest, apparently. But look, this is the risk with outsiders when you run them. Sometimes you get Joni Ernst, who wins and is a really good candidate. Sometimes it's Christine O'Donnell, at least from my side of the party. I think that is the risk here. And look, I think they tried to be too clever by half with this, running a preemptive Nazi tattoo, unveiling. I don't think it's going to work. Opposition research. Opposition research, exactly. But Adam is right. He's likely to win it as things stand right now. Janet Mills' campaign, not much of one right now.

Susan Collins, the Republican, is the incumbent. And this will be a race to watch. Matt Gorman, Adam Jentleson, it's great to have you here. Thanks for no neckties. High marks for that.