By: Tzirel Rosenblatt

In a dramatic twist that reshapes New York City’s increasingly combustible mayoral race, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday threw his full support behind Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, hailing the Guardian Angels founder as the rightful heir to his own crime-fighting legacy. The endorsement, reported by VIN News on Thursday, injects new energy into a campaign defined by ideological divides, deepening public frustration over crime and housing, and the reverberations of global conflict felt even on the city’s streets.

Appearing together on Giuliani’s radio show, Sliwa struck a note of nostalgia and defiance. “I’m Giuliani 2.0,” he declared, positioning himself as a continuation of the tough-on-crime leadership that once transformed New York in the 1990s. He credited the former mayor—his longtime ally and friend—with shaping his understanding of civic order, discipline, and the political courage to confront entrenched dysfunction.

Giuliani, for his part, acknowledged he had come under considerable pressure from Republican and conservative leaders urging him to support Andrew Cuomo, the former Democratic governor now running as an independent, in an effort to consolidate opposition against Democratic Socialist nominee Zohran Mamdani. But in a move that underscores his enduring loyalty to Sliwa, Giuliani dismissed those entreaties. “I know Curtis,” he said. “He’s the real deal—he’s been in the trenches when others were talking about reform from the sidelines.”

As the VIN News report noted, Sliwa’s campaign has been struggling to gain traction in recent weeks, consistently polling behind Cuomo, who has carved out a centrist niche appealing to disaffected Democrats and moderate Republicans. Giuliani’s endorsement, analysts say, could provide a crucial morale boost among conservative voters nostalgic for the “Giuliani era,” a time still associated with cleaner streets, economic vitality, and record-low crime.

The former mayor’s decision comes at a politically fraught moment. Giuliani remains a polarizing national figure due to his close association with Donald Trump and his post-2020 election legal battles. But within the Republican base, especially among older New Yorkers and law-and-order advocates, his name still carries enormous weight.

As the VIN News report observed, Giuliani’s brand of leadership—defined by his zero-tolerance approach to crime, aggressive policing, and visible civic pride—still resonates with voters disillusioned by what they see as the erosion of public safety under recent administrations.

“Giuliani represents the last era when New York felt governable,” one political consultant told VIN News. “For Sliwa, tying himself to that memory isn’t just smart—it’s essential.”

Indeed, Sliwa’s campaign has leaned heavily on that nostalgia, arguing that the city’s progress under Giuliani’s tenure has unraveled amid permissive policing policies, an exodus of small businesses, and a housing crisis that has deepened urban despair. “I’m fighting to restore sanity,” Sliwa said during the broadcast. “New York needs another Giuliani moment.”

Meanwhile, Andrew Cuomo, once viewed as a political casualty after his 2021 resignation amid scandal, has steadily rebuilt his public image as a pragmatic centrist determined to reclaim leadership in his home city. Appearing on Fox 5’s “Good Day New York”, Cuomo unveiled a policy platform focused squarely on economic recovery, crime reduction, and affordable housing.

“People want competence, not ideology,” Cuomo said, arguing that partisan bickering had paralyzed New York’s governance. His plan includes adding 5,000 new police officers, streamlining zoning rules to accelerate affordable housing construction, and launching a job growth initiative targeted at young professionals priced out of the city.

As the VIN News report highlighted, Cuomo’s bid to position himself as the rational alternative to both the far-left Mamdani and the populist Sliwa has gained traction with moderate voters frustrated by ideological polarization. Still, critics point out that his candidacy risks splitting the anti-Mamdani vote—an outcome that could hand victory to the progressive frontrunner in a city dominated by Democrats.

No issue has upended the race more dramatically than the fallout from Zohran Mamdani’s comments on Israel and Hamas, remarks that the VIN News report described as “a political earthquake felt far beyond the five boroughs.”

On the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, Mamdani issued a statement condemning the massacre but simultaneously accused Israel of waging what he called a “genocidal war” in Gaza. The comment drew immediate and fierce backlash.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry, in a sharply worded response reported by VIN News, accused the candidate of “echoing Hamas propaganda” and “whitewashing terror under the guise of moral outrage.” The ministry’s statement added that Mamdani’s remarks were “an insult to the memory of the victims of October 7” and evidence of “the growing normalization of antisemitism in Western politics.”

Jewish community leaders in New York also reacted with alarm. The city’s Orthodox and Modern Orthodox organizations, including several congregations in Queens and Brooklyn, condemned Mamdani’s comments as “dangerous and divisive.”

As the VIN News report noted, the incident has ignited a wider debate about the rise of anti-Israel rhetoric on college campuses and within American progressive circles—a phenomenon many see reflected in Mamdani’s politics. “What we’re witnessing is the mainstreaming of antisemitism cloaked as human rights advocacy,” one community leader told the outlet.

Cuomo and Sliwa both seized on the controversy to highlight their solidarity with Israel. Cuomo issued a statement expressing “deep solidarity with the Jewish community” and pledging to “combat antisemitism wherever it manifests.” Sliwa, meanwhile, denounced Mamdani’s remarks as “beyond the pale,” arguing that the city must remain “a safe haven for Jews everywhere, not a platform for Hamas sympathizers.”

The timing of Mamdani’s comments could not have been more politically consequential. As the VIN News report observed, they came just as New York’s Jewish community—comprising more than 1.6 million residents—was marking two years since the bloodiest day for Jews since the Holocaust.

For many voters, the issue is not merely foreign policy but a test of moral clarity. “When a candidate running for mayor accuses Israel of genocide on the anniversary of Hamas’s massacre, that’s not a policy disagreement—it’s a moral failure,” a prominent rabbi told VIN News.

The episode also highlights the broader cultural realignment unfolding in American politics, where old party loyalties are giving way to identity-driven ideological divides. Mamdani, a progressive darling backed by several far-left advocacy groups, has framed his campaign around social justice and anti-imperialist themes. But critics argue that his rhetoric increasingly alienates the city’s Jewish, moderate, and immigrant communities.

“This election is shaping up as a referendum on whether New York remains a city of law and order—or becomes a city of slogans and social media,” wrote VIN News in a recent editorial.

The entry of Cuomo and the Giuliani-Sliwa alliance has transformed what was once expected to be a predictable Democratic victory into a volatile, three-way contest. Political strategists quoted in the VIN News report suggest that the election could hinge on turnout in outer-borough neighborhoods—Staten Island, southern Brooklyn, and parts of Queens—where concerns over crime, affordability, and antisemitism run deepest.

“Every vote counts in this one,” said a former city election official. “If Sliwa consolidates Republicans and independents while Cuomo fractures moderate Democrats, Mamdani could sneak through the middle. But if Giuliani’s endorsement reignites the law-and-order base, it’s a whole new ballgame.”

Sliwa himself seemed to recognize the gravity of the moment. “This isn’t just about City Hall,” he said on Giuliani’s program. “It’s about the soul of New York—whether we’re going to stand for safety, sanity, and support for our Jewish brothers and sisters, or descend into chaos.”

As the VIN News report observed in its analysis, the convergence of local politics with global conflict has turned this mayoral race into a microcosm of larger ideological battles playing out across the Western world—between nationalism and progressivism, between traditional values and radical activism, between solidarity with Israel and sympathy for its enemies.

For now, the Giuliani-Sliwa partnership signals a return to the raw populism that once defined New York politics. Cuomo’s centrism represents a bid for moderation. And Mamdani’s campaign, once ascendant, now finds itself grappling with a crisis of credibility that may determine the outcome.

Whatever the result, the 2025 mayoral race will be remembered not just for its personalities, but for how it forced New Yorkers to confront the question of who they are—and what kind of city they want to be.