NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) – Mayor Eric Adams stopped short of condemning a council member’s post suggesting state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, a U.S. citizen who is running for mayor, be deported.
Brooklyn City Council Member Vickie Paladino posted to X on Monday, calling his politics “radical” and questioning his ability for office.
“Let’s just talk about how insane it is to elect someone to any major office who hasn’t even been a US citizen for ten years—much less a radical leftist who actually hates everything about the country,” Paladino wrote. “Deport.”
When asked about Paladino’s remarks Tuesday, Adams suggested everyone needs to tone down their rhetoric, not just Paladino.
“I am not going to point out one specific comment… We all need to tone down our rhetoric,” Adams said. “Everybody needs to tone down their mean-spirit, hateful language. And I’m not going to point out Council Member Paladino. I want to point us all out.”
Mamdani, who became a naturalized citizen in 2018, said Paladino’s remarks are a reflection of President Donald Trump’s "authoritarian" deportation efforts in New York City.
“This isn’t just hateful rhetoric — it’s a reflection of what happens when Donald Trump’s authoritarian administration is allowed to shove New Yorkers into unmarked vehicles, tear our communities apart and spit in the face of the Constitution,” Mamdani said.
This, along with death threats and Islamophobic attacks, won’t slow his campaign down, Mamdani said.
“The MAGA extremists may try to divide us, but the movement we’ve built is proof of the enduring promise of this city,” he said. “And we’re not going anywhere.”
Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here.
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