Bruce Blakeman may be aiming to unseat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. But at a Republican Jewish gathering in Manhattan on Sunday, the brunt of his remarks were targeted at another Democratic politician.
“Zohran Mamdani, you better behave yourself, or I will discipline you like I will discipline a child,” Blakeman said during the Republican Jewish Coalition’s “America 250” gala.
Blakeman did not respond to requests to clarify what he meant. But with protesters calling for the removal of the mayor, Blakeman is hoping to assume the only role that has the power to do so — a power that New York’s governor has only used once, in 1932 — after November’s election.
Blakeman, the executive of Long Island’s Nassau County, has been endorsed by President Donald Trump and is the frontrunner to win the Republican nomination later this month to face off against Hochul in November. His attacks against Hochul have often centered on her collaboration with the New York City mayor, who is a vocal Israel critic and democratic socialist, and endorsed Hochul earlier this year. Those attacks played well in the room on Sunday, where many wore red “Trump” kippahs.
“I am running for governor because we can’t afford to have four more years of Comrade Kathy with three more years of Mamdani the Commie,” Blakeman said. “We need a Jewish Zionist whose grandparents were World War II veterans in the American military.” The comment drew loud cheers and a standing ovation from many of the hundreds in attendance.
Blakeman, a staunch supporter of Israel who attended a Jerusalem real estate expo last week, called Mamdani “a virulent antisemite” for his condemnations of the Jewish state, and said the mayor goes against “Judeo-Christian principles.”
“He only singles out the State of Israel,” Blakeman said. “Why doesn’t he talk about Iran, China, Russia, Cuba, so many other countries where they don’t have the human rights, the civil rights that they have in Israel, an independent judiciary, freedom of religion?”
Blakeman also emphasized his record in Nassau County of responding to pro-Palestinian protests in the months following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the outset of the Israel-Gaza War, pointing to the deployment of police canine and aviation units.
“When the same Palestinian protesters that were at Columbia University — that blocked bridges and blocked roadways here in New York City — came into my county and tried to storm a synagogue, they were met with a little different reception than they got here,” Blakeman said, eliciting cheers.
“That’s exactly what we need for this state,” Blakeman added.
Speakers slammed Mamdani throughout the event, which took place hours after New York City’s Israel Day Parade; Mamdani became the first mayor in decades to skip the event.
“Zohran Mamdani should be ashamed of himself for not marching in this parade today and standing up for the people of Israel, and for Jewish Americans right here in New York,” said Rep. Mike Lawler, who represents a heavily Jewish district just north of New York City.
Israel’s Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana said his decision to travel from Israel and march in the parade was inspired directly by Mamdani’s decision not to attend.
Meanwhile, Florida congressman and right-wing firebrand Randy Fine said during his remarks that Mamdani “should not even be a citizen of the United States, let alone the mayor of the greatest city in the world,” drawing some cheers. He also said that he no longer believes Tucker Carlson to be the “most dangerous antisemite in America,” clarifying by text message after the event that the honor now belongs to Mamdani.
Hochul’s name, on the other hand, was not frequently mentioned throughout the evening program. While Mamdani skipped the parade, Hochul was among the delegation of politicians leading it. She signed a bill at a Jewish event before the parade that would create 50-foot “buffer zones” around houses of worship in response to pro-Palestinian protests outside synagogues.
Hochul wrote on Monday that she was “proud to march alongside thousands of New Yorkers at the Israel Day Parade to celebrate Jewish culture, heritage, resilience, and the special connection between our communities.”
Blakeman trailed Democratic Hochul by 16 percentage points in the latest polling, conducted by Siena in late April.
In an interview, Matt Brooks, CEO of the RJC, framed Blakeman’s candidacy as a way to fight Mamdani.
“I see a real opportunity, not only for people to send a message about fighting back on the rise of progressivism in the Democratic party — but the way to do that is to defeat the progressives,” Brooks said. “And a loss by Hochul is a defeat for Mamdani.”
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