Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani declined to set a timeline for apologizing to New York City police officers during a campaign stop in the Bronx on Monday, September 15th. Pressed about past remarks in which he called the NYPD “racist” and “anti-queer,” Mamdani said he is holding private discussions with officers but avoided committing to a public statement.
The comments come as critics question his approach to repairing ties with the city’s police force, and as Governor Kathy Hochul, who endorsed him last week, publicly urged him to issue a formal apology. Mamdani previously told The New York Times he would retract his 2020 posts, made during the George Floyd protests, but his latest remarks left unclear when or how he plans to do so.