The mayoral hopeful also spoke out in support of "those Muslims in this city who do not have the luxury of being the Democratic nominee."

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, is pledging to embrace his Muslim identity amid growing attacks in the final days of the campaign.

On Thursday, the city's outgoing mayor, Eric Adams, endorsed Cuomo at a news conference where Cuomo was questioned about the radio show exchange. (Adams, whose reelection chances were tarnished by a now-dismissed federal bribery case, withdrew from the mayoral race less than a month ago due to low poll numbers.)

Zohran Mamdani, who would be the city’s first Muslim mayor, could be on the cusp of shattering that convention.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has endorsed Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor, calling him a leader focused on tackling the city’s affordability crisis. The move strengthens Mamdani’s progressive campaign ahead of the November 4 election.

Democrat Zohran Mamdani's lead over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in next month's New York City mayoral election was down to 14 points in the RCP Average of polls going into their final debate last night.

The knives came out during Wednesday night's second and final New York City mayoral debate.