Republican senator relishes 'cray-cray' Mamdani's success: 'We've gotten lucky'



While New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's popularity continues to skyrocket, some Republican lawmakers are embracing it as a blessing in disguise.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said his party has "gotten lucky" with Mamdani's nomination, arguing that the "cray-cray" candidate is driving more voters away from the Democratic Party.

'That’s bad for New York, but it’s certainly good for Republicans.'

"We’ve gotten lucky — bad for America, good for Republicans — with Mr. Mamdani in New York," Kennedy told NewsNation.

"If I didn’t know better, I would think he was a Republican plant," Kennedy added. "If I didn’t know better, I’d think that Republicans had created Mr. Mamdani in a petri dish in a genomics lab."

RELATED: Hakeem Jeffries pressed for biting his tongue on Zohran Mamdani: 'It's a legitimate issue'

Photo by Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Critics of Mamdani, including Republicans and even his fellow Democrats, point to his leftist and socialist policies. Because of his extremism, high-profile New York Democrats like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have refrained from endorsing Mamdani entirely.

Kennedy said that although Mamdani's policies have alienated some voters, his candidacy has ultimately has benefited Republicans.

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Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

"He’s clearly from what I call the Gary Busey wing — the cray-cray wing — of the Democratic Party," Kennedy said. "That’s bad for New York, but it’s certainly good for Republicans."

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Hakeem Jeffries pressed for biting his tongue on Zohran Mamdani: 'It's a legitimate issue'



House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is once again holding back from commenting on Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City.

Like most of his fellow New York Democratic lawmakers, Jeffries has refrained from endorsing Mamdani despite his popularity in the city. At the same time, Mamdani's Democratic opponents, like former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, have torn into the rising star, most recently calling him a hypocrite for living in a rent-controlled apartment.

'The Mamdani campaign is going to have to address it.'

"Somewhere last night in New York City, a single mother and her children slept at a homeless shelter because you, assemblyman [Zohran Mamdani] are occupying her rent controlled apartment," Cuomo wrote in a post on X.

"We are in the middle of a historic affordability crisis," Cuomo added. "Millions of low income New Yorkers need this apartment and an apartment like it. Yet your apartment remains rented to rich people who don't need it."

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Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images

Many commentators and political analysts attribute Mamdani's success to his focus on affordability. Unlike his challengers, Mamdani has repeatedly advocated for a rent freeze on all rent-controlled apartments intended for low-income residents, which has drawn attention to his own living situation.

Despite Mamdani's hypocrisy, Jeffries yet again withheld from criticizing the Democratic front-runner.

When asked if Mamdani should live in a rent-controlled apartment, Jeffries told CNBC, "That is an issue for the state legislators and state government to work out."

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Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The CNBC host promptly pressed Jeffries, pointing out that people like Mamdani are not the intended demographic for rent subsidies and financial aid.

"It's a fascinating issue about affordability in the city and whether there are folks who are living in rent-controlled apartments all across this city that effectively should be going towards poor people who need that affordability," the host said.

"It's a legitimate issue that has been raised, and the Mamdani campaign is going to have to address it," Jeffries said.

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Former NYC mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife — who publicly identified as a lesbian earlier in life — announce they're separating and will date people, but will still share their home



After nearly three decades of marriage, former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife Chirlane McCray are separating but not planning on divorcing. They will keep sharing their home but will also date people, according to the New York Times. McCray said they will keep sharing the residence "for the time being."

"Even at this moment of change, this is a love story," de Blasio tweeted when sharing a link to the outlet's article.

— (@)

McCray has said de Blasio and she "are still very much in love" and that they had mutually arrived at their decision.

They tied the knot back in 1994 and now have two adult children.

According to the Times, McCray recounted that around two months ago, de Blasio had asked her, "Why aren't you lovey-dovey anymore?" This lead to a discussion about their relationship.

"You can't fake it," McCray noted on Tuesday, according to the outlet.

"You can feel when things are off," de Blasio remarked, "and you don't want to live that way."

"I can look back now and say, 'Here were these inflection points where we should have been saying something to each other,'" de Blasio said, according to the outlet. "And I think one of the things I should have said more is: 'Are you happy? What will make you happy? What’s missing in your life?'"

According to the Times, the spouses concluded — though with de Blasio being more forceful about it — that the marriage would not be in this condition if de Blasio had not served as mayor of the Big Apple. "Everything was this overwhelming schedule, this sort of series of tasks," he said. "And that kind of took away a little bit of our soul."

Earlier in life, before meeting and marrying de Blasio, McCray had publicly identified as a lesbian.

"For the guy who took the chance on a woman who was an out lesbian and wrote an article called 'I Am a Lesbian,'" de Blasio said, "there was a part of me that would at times say, 'Hmmm, is this like a time bomb ticking? Is this something that you’re going to regret later on?' So I always lived with that stuff."

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NYC Mayor Eric Adams backs cop who clobbered woman after she 'smacked' officer during arrest, says police at scene exercised 'great restraint'



New York City Mayor Eric Adams backed the NYPD officer who decked a woman earlier this week after she "smacked" the cop during an arrest of an attempted murder suspect — and Adams also said officers at the scene in Harlem exercised "great restraint," the New York Post reported.

What are the details?

Adams, a former NYPD lieutenant, said Thursday that police followed proper procedures, the Post reported.

“We had a person that was wanted for attempted murder — attempted murder," Adams said. "Police officers found him. He was armed with a ghost gun in his belt. Those officers showed great restraint. They didn’t discharge their weapon[s]. They subdued him."

Adams also recounted that "a crowd came and attempted to disrupt the arrest. The young lady came, smacked a police officer, the police officer responded. I think those officers on the scene showed great restraint. They did what the system called for. They didn’t turn off their body cameras. That’s why we have footage of what happened.”

The mayor added that "people got in and interrupted while police were taking action — that just can’t happen," the Post reported.

What's the background?

Officers on Tuesday were arresting 22-year-old Elvin James — a suspect in an Aug. 12 case of attempted murder, the New York Daily News reported.

Newly released NYPD bodycam video shows 19-year-old Tamani Crum — James' girlfriend, the Daily News said — rushing up to the scene of the arrest and hollering, “What’s the problem?"

The officer in question — uniformed Detective Kendo Kinsey — attempts to move Crum away, and she and Kinsey engage in a shoving match as Crum yells, “Don’t f***ing touch me!” and “Get offa me!” before Kinsey knocks her to the sidewalk with a big swing of his right hand. Kinsey and another officer then pick up Crum and handcuff her.

Content warning: Language:

32 Precinct BWC 08/30/22youtu.be

NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said in a statement accompanying the bodycam video that Crum "began to interfere with the arrest, including striking a detective. The detective fended off that interference and struck the woman with an open hand." He added that Crum "remained conscious, and was transported to an area hospital at her request." Sewell also noted that the incident, "including the conduct of the detective who used force, is under ongoing review by our Internal Affairs Bureau’s Force Group."

What happened to Crum and James?

The Post reported in a separate story that the attempted murder allegation against James is under investigation and that court records indicate he was charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, resisting arrest, and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance over a bottle of 20 oxycodone pills allegedly found in his pants pocket.

Crum was charged with second-degree obstructing criminal administration, the paper said.

Crum and James pleaded not guilty at their arraignments Wednesday night, the Post said, citing the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which added that Crum was released without bail while James' bail was set at $300,000.

Lawsuit threats — from both sides

WNBC-TV reported that Crum's mother hired an attorney.

"This has to stop, and we are seeking full accountability in this action," attorney Jamie Santana Jr. said, according to the station.

"You mean to tell me a grown man more than twice her size in weight could not handle a 19-year-old female in a different manner?" Santana also asked, according to WABC-TV.

Community members gathered outside the 32nd precinct where Kinsey works and demanded that he lose his job, WNBC added.

"The question is: When did it become a tactic for crowd control to knock somebody else unconscious?" Rev. Stephan Marshall of the National Action Network asked, according to the station.

"He cold knocked her out," Crum's grandmother added, according to WABC. "He's no better than the people [who are] knocking out people in the streets."

Crum's family said they are considering filing a lawsuit, WABC noted.

But officials from the Detectives' Endowment Association indicated they are considering filing a civil lawsuit on Kinsey's behalf, WABC added.

"When you assault a New York City detective in order to interfere with an arrest of a man armed with a gun there are repercussions," Paul DiGiacomo, president of the DEA, told the station.

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