By: Carl Schwartzbaum

In a surreal twist to New York City’s already chaotic mayoral race, Socialist Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani used social media on Saturday to lampoon Mayor Eric Adams’ embattled administration — launching what he dubbed a citywide “summer scavenger hunt” with a satirical nod to the ongoing “potato chip scandal.”

The unusual video, posted to Mamdani’s account, featured the Queens assemblyman in a suit, seated on a park bench, theatrically holding a family-size bag of Herr’s sour cream and onion chips — the same brand that catapulted Adams’ former aide, Winnie Greco, into unwanted headlines earlier this week. The stunt immediately drew attention, with The New York Post report highlighting how Mamdani’s “leader-chip” jab sought to capitalize on a bizarre corruption subplot that has overshadowed Adams’ campaign.

The 58-second clip begins with a trail of potato chips strewn across a city sidewalk, luring viewers to the figure of Mamdani, who delivers his opening line with mock solemnity: “Hello my friends. I have to come clean. I have something to hide. Many things in fact, because we’re doing a scavenger hunt.”

The camera lingers on the half-empty bag of chips as Mamdani continues to explain the game: “Here’s how it’ll work: you’ll solve a series of clues all related to a very particular theme in New York City history. At the final stop, you’ll find a special surprise — not a wad of cash — so make sure you go all the way to the end.”

👀 https://t.co/HF9hCEIOOX

— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) August 22, 2025

He closes by dutifully cleaning up the chips, a gesture designed to cast him as both self-aware and environmentally conscientious.

The event — officially billed as “Zohran’s Summer Scavenger Hunt” — is scheduled to take place Sunday afternoon across various neighborhoods, with Mamdani encouraging his supporters to decode clues for the promised “surprise” at the finish line.

The inspiration for Mamdani’s stunt was unmistakable. Earlier this week, The New York Post broke wide coverage of the scandal surrounding Winnie Greco, Adams’ longtime aide, who was accused of handing a reporter a bag of Herr’s chips stuffed with $300 in cash during a meeting.

Critics immediately pounced, denouncing the bizarre offering as a potential bribe or, at best, a mind-boggling lapse in judgment. Though Greco and her lawyer have repeatedly insisted the episode was nothing more than a misinterpreted gesture, the optics have been devastating for Adams, who is already grappling with declining approval ratings, ongoing corruption probes, and the defections of close allies.

The New York Post report described the “cash-and-chips caper” as a gift to Adams’ political opponents, noting that it has become emblematic of the mayor’s increasingly embattled leadership.

Adding to the circus-like atmosphere, disgraced ex-governor Andrew Cuomo, now mounting a political comeback with his own independent run for City Hall, was seen earlier in the week handing out bags of chips to reporters. While Cuomo insisted the gesture was light-hearted, it only served to keep the controversy in the headlines — and highlight the surreal spectacle of New York politics, where snack food has suddenly become a metaphor for corruption, incompetence, and opportunism.

The New York Post report noted that Cuomo’s involvement blurred the line between parody and politics, creating an environment where candidates are vying to outdo one another in mocking the scandal rather than addressing substantive policy debates.

For Mamdani, the scavenger hunt serves multiple purposes. As The New York Post reported, it promotes his outsider brand while skewering the perception of Adams as a leader weakened by corruption scandals and tone-deaf responses.

By invoking the chips controversy in a tongue-in-cheek campaign stunt, Mamdani amplifies his message that City Hall is mired in dysfunction — positioning himself as a candidate willing to call out absurdity with both sarcasm and style.

The fact that Mamdani cleaned up the chips at the end of the video was not lost on observers, who noted it as a metaphor for his broader campaign pitch: that he, unlike Adams, is prepared to clean up the mess in City Hall.

The mayoral race has been anything but conventional. Adams, once hailed as a pragmatic voice of law-and-order, now finds himself in a precarious position: trailing in polls, entangled in investigations, and bleeding public confidence. His allies insist the mayor still commands significant support, but the relentless drip of scandals — from questionable contracts to the potato chip fiasco — has left his reelection campaign staggering.

Meanwhile, Mamdani has leaned into his reputation as a provocative socialist, seeking to harness the frustrations of younger, progressive New Yorkers disillusioned with both Adams and the city’s Democratic establishment. The scavenger hunt — part satire, part organizing tool — reflects that strategy, using humor to galvanize volunteers and generate viral momentum.

As The New York Post report observed, the optics of Mamdani’s chips stunt illustrate how modern campaigns increasingly blur the line between political theater and policy substance. In an era of viral clips and meme politics, a bag of Herr’s chips can arguably shape public perception as much as a policy speech.

With the scavenger hunt set for Sunday, Mamdani has effectively inserted himself at the center of the latest City Hall scandal, weaponizing humor and symbolism in a way Adams has struggled to match.

As he wrote in the caption accompanying his video: “Game on.”

For Adams, however, the game looks less like a playful scavenger hunt and more like a high-stakes battle for political survival. And for voters, the image of New York’s leaders — past and present — sparring over bags of chips sheds light on both the absurdity and gravity of a mayoral race unfolding in the city’s uniquely theatrical political landscape.

As The New York Post succinctly put it: “In New York politics, even potato chips aren’t safe from scandal.”