Assemblymember David Weprin and City Council Member James Gennaro denounced Zohran Mamdani on October 26th, 2025, with Weprin stating Mamdani's platform contains "blatant antisemitism and anti-Israel propaganda," and Gennaro calling Mamdani an "antisemitic hate-zombie." Both officials expressed support for Governor Cuomo, according to posts on X. These statements follow claims by user @TrinityMustache on X, who questioned the veracity of Mamdani's tearful account of his aunt no longer taking the subway after 9/11 due to feeling unsafe in her hijab. The user provided a link to a Devex profile of Masuma Mamdani, stating she does not wear a hijab and has never lived in New York. In other developments, a poll taken this week shows Graham leading by 21 points, with a campaign post on X stating that a "DC smear campaign" is not impacting voters. Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, identified as a soybean farmer, stated on X that he has "felt the pain" of American farmers being hurt by tariffs. Previous reports from the window indicate Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended a $20 billion bailout of Argentina as "America First." Bessent also referred to Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev as a "Russian propagandist," noting that sanctions on Dmitriev were temporarily paused for U.S. meetings. Additionally, reports from earlier in the week highlighted Senator Lindsey Graham's defense of the Trump administration's strikes in the Caribbean and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' comments on election rigging and gerrymandering.
