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LOADINGERROR LOADING Supplemental nutrition assistance is going unpaid. Air traffic controllers are calling out of work, leading to cascading flight delays across the country. The House majority leader is refusing to swear in a new legislator who would cast the pivotal vote to release the Epstein files. And the U.S. economy may be in a recession, but we wouldn’t know because we can’t see that data because of the ongoing government shutdown. So naturally, Republicans want you to be all in on who New York City elects for mayor. Roughly 97.5% of the country lives somewhere other than New York City, but that hasn’t stopped people like Rep. Andy Ogles from casting the race between Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo as an event on par with 9/11. Advertisement The Tennessee Republican, who, like the vast majority of the country, will be completely unaffected by the outcome of the election, posted a video of the second plane hitting the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, on Monday, along with the caption, “WAKE UP NEW YORK!” In a follow-up post he called for Mamdani to be deported. Mamdani is a U.S. citizen. If the elections of Eric Adams, Bill de Blasio, Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani as mayor of New York City had no impact on your daily life, the odds are high you can safely ignore Republican fear-baiting this time, too. Undeterred, Republicans around the country pushed similarly hyperbolic claims. Speaking at a Republican Jewish Coalition event in Nevada, which, no, is not New York, Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican from Florida, which is also not New York, also called for Mamdani “to be deported immediately.” Advertisement Elon Musk, a Texas resident, betrayed his ignorance of NYC politics by complaining on social media that Mamdani is listed on the ballot twice. “Given that he’s on the ballot twice, maybe he can win twice too,” Musk, who has no real vested interest in the outcome, wrote along with the “facepalm” emoji. Advertisement (New York’s “fusion” voting system allows candidates to run on both a major party and minor party line, enabling voters to show support for a minor party; candidate votes are only counted once.) A day earlier, Musk pleaded with his followers not to vote for Republican Party candidate Curtis Sliwa, because “a vote for Curtis is really a vote for Mumdumi or whatever his name is.” (It’s a funny choice of insult; Musk famously named one of his children X Æ A-Xii). Meanwhile, Musk’s actual elected representative, Sen. Ted Cruz (R), weighed in to call Mamdani “an actual Communist Jihadist” and “a literal Karl Marx-quoting America-hating Jihadist.” Advertisement When he’s not fleeing to Mexico, Cruz lives in Houston, which is not New York City. Conservative media dutifully amplified the trend. Even though conservative darling Dick Cheney had just died, Fox News’ lead story Tuesday afternoon attacked Mamdani for suggesting President Donald Trump’s violent rhetoric might have something to do with bomb threats at polling places in New Jersey. Another story on the site asked, “Will Election Day 2025 be remembered as the rise of the socialists?” along with a subhed warning that with a Mamdani victory, yes, yes it would. ReportingWhat'sReal Your SupportFuelsOur Mission Your SupportFuelsOur Mission Join HuffPost Today This Election Day we’re cutting through the noise. With no billionaire influence or angles, we’re here to inform voters and help you make sense of the election day chaos. By becoming a member you help power this mission. We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves. Thank you again for your support along the way. We’re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again. We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves. Thank you again for your support along the way. We’re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again. Support HuffPost Already a member? Log in to hide these messages. Not to be outdone, a third Fox headline Tuesday warned a “prostitution crisis will engulf NYC” if Mamdani wins.
