Adams, Cuomo push probe into Mamdani's college race claim; Sliwa slams it as distraction

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov Andrew Cuomo are calling for a full examination into assertions that Zohran Mamdani falsely identified himself as African American on his Columbia University application However Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa says the disagreement is a distraction from Mamdani s socialist agenda and only turns him into a victim energizing his supporters and swaying undecided voters Both Adams and Cuomo warned that Mamdani s alleged racial misrepresentation could signal deeper deceit with the Adams campaign calling the move possibly fraudulent and Cuomo s campaign warning it might be just the tip of the iceberg CURTIS SLIWA VOWS TO STAY IN NYC MAYORAL RACE AS DONORS PLOT TO STOP MAMDANIMamdani the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City identified as Black or African American on his Columbia University application even though he now says he does not consider himself Black The New York Times announced Thursday Mamdani then a high school senior also checked Asian and reportedly wrote in Ugandan in the space for additional background He was ultimately not accepted to Columbia even though his father is a professor at the elite school He was not a U S citizen at the time Mamdani described The Times he identifies as an American who was born in Africa and revealed checking multiple boxes was an effort to reflect his complex background and not to gain an edge in the competitive admissions process However Adams condemned Mamdani s actions as an insult to every apprentice who got into college the right way The African American identity is not a checkbox of convenience Adams explained It s a history a struggle and a lived experience For someone to exploit that for personal gain is deeply offensive Rich Azzopardi a spokesperson for the Cuomo campaign echoed the calls from the Adams camp This should come as no surprise as Mamdani his proposals his funding and his background received absolutely no scrutiny Azzopardi mentioned This issue must be fully investigated because if true it could be fraud and just the tip of the iceberg Adams is running as an Independent having been elected as a Democrat in late while Cuomo is weighing an independent trail to Gracie Mansion having lost to Mamdani in the Democratic primary ACKMAN BACKS ADAMS TO STOP SOCIALIST MAMDANI CALLS ON CUOMO TO DROP OUTSliwa on the other hand is taking the high road and sees the dispute as a political distraction that will only help Mamdani s cause There s so much we can criticize Zoran for to me what are we doing here Sliwa narrated Fox News Digital We're making him a martyr We're victimizing Zohran and getting away from the issues of why his voting would be a threat to New York City He s being attacked as a Muslim he s being mocked for how he eats in a video Stop that You re enraging people who might otherwise disagree with him on the issues You re galvanizing his help Mamdani s win has caused a political earthquake in the Big Apple striking fear into moderates independents conservatives and even parts of the Democrat Party who believe his socialist policies could have devastating and long-lasting consequences on the financial capital of the world Mamdani ran on a platform that included economic policies aligned with progressives and socialists in the Democratic Party such as a minimum wage tax hikes on businesses and the rich and other policies like creating city-owned grocery stores and imposing a rent freeze for stabilized tenants Sliwa warned critics that critics are handing Mamdani a political gift Even people who don t agree with him on the issues will rally to his defense when they think the attacks are unfair or over the top Sliwa added Let's get back to the issues where there are clear differences between how Zohran Mamdani wants to run the city and the way I want to run this city or Eric Adams or Andrew Cuomo Stop this you're just victimizing him The Adams campaign is calling on Columbia University to publicly release Mamdani s admissions records clarify whether his non-citizen status influenced admissions or financial aid decisions and conduct a formal review to determine whether any university policies were violated We need answers Adams spokesperson Todd Shapiro reported Because the people of New York deserve to know whether the man asking for their vote built his career on a possibly fraudulent foundation Fox News Digital reached out to the Mamdani campaign about the debate and his opponents' takes on it but did not instantly receive a response Mamdani described The Times that aside from those college forms he doesn t recall ever identifying as Black or African American His parents are both of Indian descent His father Columbia professor Mahmood Mamdani has lived in East Africa for generations but Mamdani commented there had been no intermarriage in the family with native African groups Mamdani has leaned into his South Asian and Muslim identity on the campaign trail During a June speech at Al Sharpton s National Action Arrangement he also stressed his African roots saying I was born in Kampala Uganda I was given my middle name Kwame by my father who named me after the first Prime Minister of Ghana Fox News Jasmine Baehr contributed to this review