New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was met with boos and jeers at a pro-police event on Staten Island, leading to his departure from the stage after less than a minute. The incident occurred Tuesday during the New York Police Department’s 43rd Patrol Borough National Night Out Against Crime event.
Approximately 3,500 residents and families were in attendance when Mamdani attempted to speak. His address was quickly drowned out by loud boos, jeers, and crowd chants, including "get out of here" and "nobody wants you." Despite attempts to continue speaking, the crowd's reaction persisted.
Mamdani eventually thanked the crowd with a hand-over-heart gesture, waved, and walked offstage. Some attendees continued to yell expletives as he exited. An organizer attempted to restore order, but the crowd remained vocal.
Political commentators reacted to the event. Conservative pundit Eric Daugherty described the situation on X as Mamdani being "VICIOUSLY booed and jeered off stage" and that he "walked off in SHAME." Political commentator Joey Mannarino stated that Mamdani "just got the reception he actually deserves," calling him a "communist mayor" and a "DSA radical."
This event follows previous criticism regarding Mamdani's relationship with the NYPD. During his mayoral campaign, his past support for defunding the police was a point of contention. After his election, budget proposals that included cuts to police funding and the cancellation of plans to hire 5,000 new officers drew further criticism.
Mamdani also faced scrutiny for his response to an incident in February at Washington Square Park, referred to as "Snowballgate." During the incident, a crowd allegedly threw snowballs at NYPD officers, resulting in injuries. Critics, including local crime expert Rafael Mangual, noted that Mamdani did not explicitly condemn the assault and appeared to downplay the perpetrators' actions, referring to them as "kids" involved in a snowball fight.