Tech billionaire Elon Musk discussed the New York City mayoral race during his appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast on Friday, calling democratic socialist frontrunner Zohran Mamdani “charismatic” while also labeling him a “swindler.”
Musk followed up his podcast comments on Monday with a post on X urging voters to support former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in Tuesday’s election who is running as an independent. With just one day until New York City voters pick their next mayor, polls give Mamdani an advantage over Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Why It Matters
The recent remark by one of the world’s wealthiest men highlights the intense national scrutiny surrounding this mayoral election. Musk’s comments on one of the most-watched podcasts in America could influence undecided voters in the city in the final hours before polls open.
Mamdani, who has embraced policies such as city-run grocery stores and free bus services, beat Cuomo, in the primary this summer. However, Cuomo opted to remain in the race and launched an independent campaign in the general election in hopes of building a coalition of more centrist Democrats and Republicans. Meanwhile, Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, a volunteer crime prevention organization, is running on the Republican line, but has stalled in the polls.
Whoever prevails will remain a national figure whose efforts to address the city’s challenges surrounding affordability and public safety will continue to garner attention over the coming years.
What To Know
During the podcast interview, Musk described Mamdani as “a charismatic swindler,” adding: “You’ve got to hand it to him, he can light up a stage. But he’s been a swindler his entire life. And he’s likely to win. Likely to be mayor of New York City.”
When host Joe Rogan pressed Musk on what makes Mamdani a swindler, the billionaire explained: “If you say to any audience, whatever that audience wants to hear, instead of having a consistent message, I would say that that is a swindly thing to do.” Despite his criticism, Musk acknowledged Mamdani’s political skills, saying “he is charismatic.”
Rogan agreed with the characterization, describing Mamdani as “good looking guy, smart, charismatic” and noting his appeal to younger voters. “This ethnic guy who’s young and vibrant, and has all these socialist ideas, aligns with them, and, you know, they’re a bunch of broke dorks just out of college.”
On Monday, Musk posted on X urging New Yorkers to vote for Cuomo, warning that “a vote for Curtis is really a vote for Mumdumi or whatever his name is.”
Each candidate spent the weekend working to get their supporters to the voting booth in the final stretch of the campaign. More than 735,000 New Yorkers cast their ballots early in the race, according to the New York City Board of Elections.
The latest round of polls showed Mamdani holding onto his lead. In a AtlasIntel poll, 41 percent of respondents said they would vote for Mamdani, while Cuomo and Sliwa’s support stood at 34 percent and 24 percent, respectively. A Fox News poll gave Mamdani 47 percent of the vote, compared to Cuomo’s 31 percent and Sliwa’s 15 percent. A Marist University poll showed 48 percent for Mamdani, 32 percent for Cuomo, and 16 percent for Sliwa. An Emerson College poll showed Mamdani with 51 percent of the vote, while Cuomo and Sliwa received 26 percent and 21 percent, respectively.
Mamdani has garnered national attention over his progressive policies. He has earned support from prominent progressives like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders. But other Democrats have responded with skepticism—Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has declined to endorse him.
Speaking during a 60 Minutes interview that aired on CBS on Sunday, President Donald Trump called Mamdani a “communist,” adding that “it’s gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York.”
“Because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there,” the president said.
60 Minutes correspondent Norah O’Donnell also asked Trump, “Some people have compared him to a left-wing version of you, charismatic, breaking the old rules. What do you think about that?”
Trump responded: “Well, I think I’m a much better looking person than him, right?”
What People Are Saying
Elon Musk wrote on X on Monday: “Remember to vote tomorrow in New York! Bear in mind that a vote for Curtis is really a vote for Mumdumi or whatever his name is. VOTE CUOMO!”
Zohran Mamdani posted a campaign message on Monday: “Early this morning, our city still in darkness, I set off to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. As the sun came up, we were joined by canvassers, labor leaders, elected officials, working people — a movement to bring a new day to our city. Tomorrow, we win it together.”
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for Andrew Cuomo, previously told Newsweek: “For weeks this has been a tightening race with early voting showing a surge of older voters—the exact inverse of the primary—and turnout on track for between 1.9 and 2 million. With those dynamics, every poll out there is essentially meaningless from this point out.”
Emerson College Polling Director Spencer Kimball wrote in a recent memo: “Mamdani appears to have built a coalition across key demographics, increasing his margin among Black voters since last month, from 50 percent to 71 percent, whereas Cuomo dropped 10 points among Black voters since September. Mamdani continues to have a base of young voters; 69 percent of voters under 50 support him, whereas 37 percent of voters over 50 support Mamdani, while 31 percent support Cuomo and 28 percent Sliwa.”
What Happens Next?
Voting will take place on Tuesday. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to the New York City Board of Elections.
Watch the entire interview below: