Democratic New York City mayoral nominee\u00a0Zohran Mamdani\u00a0said Stephen Colbert\u2019s \u201cThe Late Show\u201d pitched a \u201cgame\u201d to play that he found inappropriate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In an interview\u00a0with The New Yorker, Mamdani recalled an exchange with Colbert\u2019s producers ahead of his late-night appearance in June, just one day before the self-described democratic socialist <\/a>clinched the Democratic nomination.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n At the time,\u00a0Jewish groups urged Colbert\u00a0to grill<\/a> Mamdani on his views about Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cRight before the candidates went onstage, the producers appeared in the greenroom and said that they wanted to go over a few more questions,\u201d The New Yorker described the situation Thursday. \u201cAccording to people who were in the room, one of the producers suggested a \u2018thumbs-up or thumbs-down\u2019 segment: \u2018Thumbs-up or thumbs-down: Hamas. Thumbs-up or thumbs-down: a Palestinian state.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMamdani\u2019s face dropped. \u2018I just couldn\u2019t believe what was happening,\u201d Mamdani told the magazine. \u2019That a genocide could be distilled into a late-night game.’\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s aides were \u201cincensed,\u201d one of them telling the producer, \u201cYou have the first Muslim candidate for mayor in the history of New York. \u2026 You don\u2019t want to ask him a question about that?\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for \u201cThe Late Show\u201d did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital\u2019s request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n NYS Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani appears on \u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert\u201d on June 23, 2025. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert<\/p>\n At the time,\u00a0Jewish groups urged Colbert\u00a0to grill Mamdani on his views about Israel. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert<\/p>\n Colbert did press Mamdani for several minutes on the Israel-Hamas war <\/a>and the growing concerns about\u00a0antisemitism.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDoes the State of Israel have the right to exist?\u201d Colbert asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Mamdani responded. \u201cLike all nations, I believe it has the right to exist and a responsibility also to uphold international law.\u201d<\/p>\n People walk past buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza city of Khan Yunis on Oct. 10, 2025. HAITHAM IMAD\/EPA\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n A map of the Gaza \u201cbuffer zone where the IDF will fall back once cease fire requirements are met. NY Post Design<\/p>\n The liberal late-night host, who repeatedly stressed he wasn\u2019t offering any endorsement in the mayoral race, acknowledged the \u201celephant in the room,\u201d noting the \u201cfear\u201d within the Jewish community about the rise in antisemitism and what would happen if New York City elected Mamdani, a far-left Muslim and an outspoken critic of Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re very upset by some of the things that you\u2019ve said in the past, and they\u2019re afraid that your mayorship would actually lead to increased antisemitism, that they believe that would be more dangerous for them,\u201d Colbert told Mamdani. \u201cWhat do you say to those New Yorkers who are afraid that you wouldn\u2019t be their mayor, that you wouldn\u2019t protect them?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, I know where that fear is coming from,\u201d Mamdani responded. \u201cIt\u2019s a fear that is based upon the horrific attacks we\u2019ve seen in Washington, DC, in Boulder, Colorado, and it\u2019s a fear that I hear also from New Yorkers themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, just a few days after the horrific war crime of Oct. 7, a friend of mine told me about how he went to his synagogue for Shabbat services, and he heard the door open behind him. And a tremor went up his spine as he turned around not knowing who was there and what they meant for him,\u201d he continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI spoke to a Jewish man in Williamsburg just months ago who told me that the door he left unlocked for decades is now one that he locks. And, ultimately, this is because we\u2019re seeing a crisis of antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani then touted his proposal committing an \u201c800%\u201d increase in funding for the Department of Community Safety\u2019s anti-hate crime programming.<\/p>\n A billboard in Tel Aviv, Israel, praises President Donald Trump for leading the cease-fire negotiations on Oct. 10, 2025. Getty Images<\/p>\n Mamdani appeared on the show with NYC Comptroller Brad Lander. CBS via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cBecause to your point, antisemitism is not simply something that we should talk about. It\u2019s something that we have to tackle,\u201d Mamdani told Colbert. \u201cWe have to make clear there\u2019s no room for it in this city, in this country, in this world and \u2014 \u201c<\/p>\n \u201cAnd no justification for violence of any kind?\u201d Colbert interjected.<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Mamdani quickly responded. \u201cThere\u2019s no room for violence in this city, in this country, in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n Polls show Mamdani maintaining a substantial lead over his rivals even as the mayoral race narrowed following the exit of incumbent New York City Mayor Eric Adams.<\/a><\/p>\n