New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is facing an uproar in the wake of the revelation that he claimed he was "black or African American" and "Asian" on an application to Columbia University, according to a NY Times report. He did not get in, but putting that in the application would likely have upped his chances of getting in. He told The NY Times on Thursday he did not consider himself "black or African American" but an "American born in Africa." He claimed he didn't do it to increase his chances but to reflect the fullness of his background. However, the question on the application is about race, not about his place of birth.
Mamdani, whose parents are Indian, was born in Uganda but came to New York City when he was a child. He is not black and was not a U.S. citizen at the time of the application.
READ MORE: Zohran Mamdani Caught in a Race Admissions Scandal After Claiming to Be 'Black'
His opponent in the race, the present Mayor, Eric Adams, who is black, was offended by what Mamdani did, calling it “an insult to every student who got into college the right way" and calling for the release of the Columbia records on Mamdani.
“The African American identity is not a checkbox of convenience," Adams said. "For someone to exploit that for personal gain is deeply offensive."
Campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro argued, "It’s now clear that Zohran Mamdani misrepresented his racial identity to gain admission to Columbia University, and at the time, he wasn’t even a US citizen. This is not just dishonest — it’s possibly fraudulent." He suggested this could have taken away a spot from an African American candidate. Ultimately, it probably didn't since Mamdani wasn't accepted.
But now there's another interview that's coming back to haunt him on the subject. Let's start with the problem that it's with Crackhead Barney, a shock interviewer who wears very little, says wild things, and curses a lot. She said he was at a Tesla protest. This was in March. That should be disqualifying right there. But then he manages to stick a fork in his defense over his application.
Warning for very graphic language:
Mamdani tells her that he would not "claim that status" when she asks if he would identify himself as "African American" because that would be "misleading." He might want to check in with his younger self, then, because there seems to be a contradiction there. His explanation for this should be interesting. He's a smooth talker, but this one might be a bit of a challenge to skate out of, even in New York City. It may also open up a few more eyes about him.
Mamdani is now leading in new polling, ahead of Adams, Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. But collectively, their numbers would outweigh his.
He nabbed 35% of voters polled, while ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo pulled in 29%. Republican Curtis Sliwa had 16% while incumbent Adams, who is running as an independent, came in with 14% while fellow independent candidate, Jim Walden, had 1%.
Now they have to decide to coalesce around one candidate, not let him walk into office by all running and dividing the vote.
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