Mamdani says he’ll apologize for past social media post that blasted NYPD as racist

  Ema Alice:  Democratic mayoral nominee and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani will apologize for a 2020 social media post in which he called the NYPD “racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety,” his campaign confirmed to amNewYork. Mamdani’s apparent shift on his past comments — he first revealed this in a Thursday interview with The New York Times — comes after he previously said those comments were “out of step” with his mayoral bid but stopped short of formally apologizing for them. It demonstrates an apparent effort by Mamdani — a democratic socialist Queens Assembly member — to moderate his once much further-left views on policing as he vies against a crowded field of challengers in the Nov. 4 general election. Those opponents — particularly independents former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams — have made much hay out of Mamdani’s past criticisms of the NYPD to paint him as ill equipped to lead the department. Mamdani’s campaign confirmed his comments to The Times. The lawmaker told the outlet that he made the social media post “at the height of frustration” in the weeks following George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. When asked twice by a reporter if he would apologize for those comments, he said “yes.” However, it is unclear if Mamdani would make such an apology during his campaign or after, if he were to win the election. Throughout his campaign, Mamdani has also repeatedly said he no longer supports the “defund the police” movement he once embraced. “To be very clear, as I have been over the course of this campaign, I’m not defunding the police, I’m not running to defund the police,” he said in July. [Bangla Press is a global platform for free thought. It provides impartial news, analysis, and commentary for independent-minded individuals. Our goal is to bring about positive change, which is more important today than ever before.] BP/CS