September 12, 2025 • 9 mins
Curtis Sliwa joins Mendte in the Morning to talk about the current violent political climate his run for NYC Mayor and why he thinks he can win.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Candidate for mayor of New York City running on the
Republican slate, Curtis Sliwa Curtis, good to see you, Thanks
for coming in.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Oh my pleasure. You extended a microphone to me so
often here at WR so we can talk about what
has been the most interesting mayoral race ever internationally, nationally, regionally,
and obviously the most important part locally.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yeah, it's getting a whole lot of national attention before
we get to the mayor's race. And I know there's
a big deadline coming up in ten days that I
do want to talk to you about. But let's talk
about the big national story right now, because it just broke.
They believe they have their man now in Utah. What
are your thoughts?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Well, clearly, as having been a victim of gunshots myself
for exercising my write free speech on the radio at
the time that John Gottisinia was on trial, I ended
up getting shot five times at hollow point bullets. Very
lucky to survive. This issue of Charlie Kirk being assassinated
(01:04):
should send shockwaves through our country, which is best known
for free speech in democracy, and what he was doing
going from campus and campus and not just using his
bully pulpit, but having debates, forensic debates, always having a
challenger of note take him on the issues in front
of young people. This is what school is supposed to
(01:25):
be about, where you hear two different sides and then
you come to your own conclusions. And then to have
him assassinated simply because of his point of view, I
mean that is I mean, that's happened in our history
here in America in the sixties when I was growing up.
Remember JFK sixty three and then RFK and then MLK
(01:45):
Junior in sixty eight. It happened Maya Kahani in nineteen
ninety not far from me in midtown. Rabbin in Israel
remembers Prime Minister. So we've had a series of these
situations and violence never resolves these kind of situations. So
I'll be actually a tending a visual for Charlie Kirk.
This is not political. He didn't have to be aligned
(02:07):
to him ideologically, but to try to stop this violence
because remember, it will replicate itself, all absol copycat effects.
So it's tonight right at Madison Square, Bark fifth Avenue
and twenty third Street, seven pm. It's the final forte
of the Young Republicans has asked me to speak. There'll
be other people there also, just to say, put aside
(02:28):
your political differences. We don't want anybody to be hurt
in the process of espousing their views. That's what America
is known for. But there have been spurts of violence
in our history, and that's why it's very important that
people come together at this moment of Charlie Kirk's loss.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
And I'll have Curtis give the information once again at
the very end in case you missed it the first time,
so you can write it down and attend. It sounds
like a wonderful event. One last thing about this before
I move on. There's been a lot of people out there,
and there's been some wild theories, and there's been some
theories that make sense about what motivated him and more importantly,
(03:06):
if he acted alone. Do you think he acted alone?
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I would think so, but from what I've known of
radical left wing groups, more than likely it's just a
hunch of mine Antifa, because Antifa actually goes to gun rangers.
They train. In the summer of George Floyd in twenty twenty,
I got my jaw broken in the streets of New
York City defending people when Bill Deblasio asked the police
(03:31):
to stand down on June first and June second. If
you remember when plywood was going up all over the city,
starting with Macy's and then over almost every storefront, and
yet still the rampaging mobs came out at night by
Lives Matter and Antifa. They broke my jaw with a
claw hammer. And remember how Biden and also Gerald Nadler
was saying it's just a concept, it's not a reality. No, No,
(03:53):
Antifa is real, and he seems to fit the profile.
But I could be completely wrong on this.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Yeah, there's a nobody knows. We're going to know a
whole lot in twenty minutes we're going to try to
take some of that live when the FBI have their
news conference from out in Utah. You got a big
deadline coming up. Yeah, it may not be a big
deadline for you because I think you've already made up
your mind. Oh yeah, yeah, and let's just explain ten
days you got to decide whether you're going to drop
out of the race or not. That's the deadline.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
The President weighed in on this, and I had always
urged them publicly because I don't speak with the president
and he doesn't speak with me. Stay out of the
Mayro race. You got more important things to deal with,
Peace between the Ukrainian Russia, and peace and Gaza. Because
every day that war goes on between Hamas and Israel
is a good day for Johanmandani. That's how he's gotten
(04:42):
a lot of his gen Z and millennial support. In fact,
you saw the New York Times survey. For the first time,
New Yorkers were more sympathetic to the Hamas course, the
Palestinian course, and the Israeli cause. And that's reflected in
people who are going to vote. And I got to
warn everybody out there, I'm a baby boomer, like a lot,
but we are no longer the majority, the majority of
(05:02):
the population or millennials gen zs. The majority of the
voters are millennials and gen zs. That's how the president
can have an impact on this election, because if he
would bring peace to Gaza, which he has the potential
to do, that would take a major campaign plank right
away from Zohamandami. He doesn't want to talk about local issues.
(05:24):
He wants to run against Donald Trump. He wants to
talk about the Palestinian course, anything to distract because on
the local issues, especially crime and public safety, he's extraordinarily weak.
That's his Achilles heal, and that's what I constantly go
at him at. But every day that the press and
the candidates talk about who should drop out is another
(05:45):
good day for Zora Mondami because he doesn't have to
talk about issues.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
And you're right about the war as well, not only
because young voters are with him. But listen to this.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Part of the reason I'm sitting before you as the
Democratic nominee is because of an increase in Muslim voter
turnout unlike anything we've ever seen in the history of
the city.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
That's what he says, that's what he credits for winning,
the increase in Muslim turnout.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Married Larry, you know Jewish people, there are about a
million and a half people more Jews and anywhere outside
of Israel, but.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Their vote was split with sixty forty. So I say,
to Jewish people out there who have fear fright hysteria, hey,
you know you obviously didn't get this across to your
own children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. You didn't need to
have a come to hash Shem meeting with your children,
and you're actually your families because it requires tough love.
(06:42):
You're gonna have to say to your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren,
guess what, I'm not paying for your college education any
longer your car payments. I'm not paying for your end.
I'm not sending you to Europe. You'll have to pay
for your own way. If you're going to promote Johann
Mondamian vote for Zara Mandami. My father and mother used
to tell me, hey, look, as long as you live
in this household, as long as we pay your bills,
(07:03):
you'll do it my way, our way, or you can
hit the highway.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Yeah, it's not like that. It's not like that.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
You can't lecture everyone. When forty percent of the Jewish
vote in the Democratic primary went for Zara Mandami and
those were the millennials and gen zas, now they were
somebody's sons and daughters and somebody's grandchildren, right, did anyone
not take the time to have a conversation with them?
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Yeah? I get it all, but you have a tough
road to ho don't your First of all, you're Republican,
and so people aren't gonna like you right away because
you're a Republican. It seems like Eric Adams may either
drop out of the race, but he's going to be
a non factor, so they're not going to split the
vote like you hope they would. What is your path
to victory?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Well, with Eric Adams, I get vertigo. I mean every
other day it's a drama, soap, opera, novella. Please for
your own supporters, stay in or get out. You know
he's probably loving every second of this. But again, another
great day for Zara Mandami because nobody's talking about issues.
I'm in it. When the ten days ends, I'll be
(08:04):
opening up my third headquarters and the fly Puts section
of Brooklyn. I've opened them up in Brownsville, Brooklyn. No,
no Republican ever had Brownsville, Brooklyn, Howard Beach, Bay Ridge, Bronks.
I don't see Cuomo opening up any headquarters and sid
I mean that's it. But in the case of Eric Adams,
his his campaign has collapsed. To do what you want,
(08:27):
but I have also the independent line protect Animals, and
that calls for no kill shelters and for putting animal
abuses in jail, and that resonates with a lot of
women who might never vote for me as a Republican,
but does say I'm going to vote for you because
nobody else is talking animal rights issues except for critically.
And his wife Nancy, who was featured in our first commercials.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
She was wonderful. You should have her out in front more.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Not only that, notice I didn't say a word in
those holes.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
A miracle, yep, exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
That's the best part of being Aslee as my wife Nancy.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
She was wonderful. She could do voice over work that
she has a great voice. Thanks so much, courteously, come
back again anytime you want. We'd love to have you.
We're pulling for you. Thank you so much, my pleasure.
Thank you though
Candidate for mayor of New York City running on the
Republican slate, Curtis Sliwa Curtis, good to see you, Thanks
for coming in.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Oh my pleasure. You extended a microphone to me so
often here at WR so we can talk about what
has been the most interesting mayoral race ever internationally, nationally, regionally,
and obviously the most important part locally.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yeah, it's getting a whole lot of national attention before
we get to the mayor's race. And I know there's
a big deadline coming up in ten days that I
do want to talk to you about. But let's talk
about the big national story right now, because it just broke.
They believe they have their man now in Utah. What
are your thoughts?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Well, clearly, as having been a victim of gunshots myself
for exercising my write free speech on the radio at
the time that John Gottisinia was on trial, I ended
up getting shot five times at hollow point bullets. Very
lucky to survive. This issue of Charlie Kirk being assassinated
(01:04):
should send shockwaves through our country, which is best known
for free speech in democracy, and what he was doing
going from campus and campus and not just using his
bully pulpit, but having debates, forensic debates, always having a
challenger of note take him on the issues in front
of young people. This is what school is supposed to
(01:25):
be about, where you hear two different sides and then
you come to your own conclusions. And then to have
him assassinated simply because of his point of view, I
mean that is I mean, that's happened in our history
here in America in the sixties when I was growing up.
Remember JFK sixty three and then RFK and then MLK
(01:45):
Junior in sixty eight. It happened Maya Kahani in nineteen
ninety not far from me in midtown. Rabbin in Israel
remembers Prime Minister. So we've had a series of these
situations and violence never resolves these kind of situations. So
I'll be actually a tending a visual for Charlie Kirk.
This is not political. He didn't have to be aligned
(02:07):
to him ideologically, but to try to stop this violence
because remember, it will replicate itself, all absol copycat effects.
So it's tonight right at Madison Square, Bark fifth Avenue
and twenty third Street, seven pm. It's the final forte
of the Young Republicans has asked me to speak. There'll
be other people there also, just to say, put aside
(02:28):
your political differences. We don't want anybody to be hurt
in the process of espousing their views. That's what America
is known for. But there have been spurts of violence
in our history, and that's why it's very important that
people come together at this moment of Charlie Kirk's loss.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
And I'll have Curtis give the information once again at
the very end in case you missed it the first time,
so you can write it down and attend. It sounds
like a wonderful event. One last thing about this before
I move on. There's been a lot of people out there,
and there's been some wild theories, and there's been some
theories that make sense about what motivated him and more importantly,
(03:06):
if he acted alone. Do you think he acted alone?
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I would think so, but from what I've known of
radical left wing groups, more than likely it's just a
hunch of mine Antifa, because Antifa actually goes to gun rangers.
They train. In the summer of George Floyd in twenty twenty,
I got my jaw broken in the streets of New
York City defending people when Bill Deblasio asked the police
(03:31):
to stand down on June first and June second. If
you remember when plywood was going up all over the city,
starting with Macy's and then over almost every storefront, and
yet still the rampaging mobs came out at night by
Lives Matter and Antifa. They broke my jaw with a
claw hammer. And remember how Biden and also Gerald Nadler
was saying it's just a concept, it's not a reality. No, No,
(03:53):
Antifa is real, and he seems to fit the profile.
But I could be completely wrong on this.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Yeah, there's a nobody knows. We're going to know a
whole lot in twenty minutes we're going to try to
take some of that live when the FBI have their
news conference from out in Utah. You got a big
deadline coming up. Yeah, it may not be a big
deadline for you because I think you've already made up
your mind. Oh yeah, yeah, and let's just explain ten
days you got to decide whether you're going to drop
out of the race or not. That's the deadline.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
The President weighed in on this, and I had always
urged them publicly because I don't speak with the president
and he doesn't speak with me. Stay out of the
Mayro race. You got more important things to deal with,
Peace between the Ukrainian Russia, and peace and Gaza. Because
every day that war goes on between Hamas and Israel
is a good day for Johanmandani. That's how he's gotten
(04:42):
a lot of his gen Z and millennial support. In fact,
you saw the New York Times survey. For the first time,
New Yorkers were more sympathetic to the Hamas course, the
Palestinian course, and the Israeli cause. And that's reflected in
people who are going to vote. And I got to
warn everybody out there, I'm a baby boomer, like a lot,
but we are no longer the majority, the majority of
(05:02):
the population or millennials gen zs. The majority of the
voters are millennials and gen zs. That's how the president
can have an impact on this election, because if he
would bring peace to Gaza, which he has the potential
to do, that would take a major campaign plank right
away from Zohamandami. He doesn't want to talk about local issues.
(05:24):
He wants to run against Donald Trump. He wants to
talk about the Palestinian course, anything to distract because on
the local issues, especially crime and public safety, he's extraordinarily weak.
That's his Achilles heal, and that's what I constantly go
at him at. But every day that the press and
the candidates talk about who should drop out is another
(05:45):
good day for Zora Mondami because he doesn't have to
talk about issues.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
And you're right about the war as well, not only
because young voters are with him. But listen to this.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Part of the reason I'm sitting before you as the
Democratic nominee is because of an increase in Muslim voter
turnout unlike anything we've ever seen in the history of
the city.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
That's what he says, that's what he credits for winning,
the increase in Muslim turnout.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Married Larry, you know Jewish people, there are about a
million and a half people more Jews and anywhere outside
of Israel, but.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Their vote was split with sixty forty. So I say,
to Jewish people out there who have fear fright hysteria, hey,
you know you obviously didn't get this across to your
own children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. You didn't need to
have a come to hash Shem meeting with your children,
and you're actually your families because it requires tough love.
(06:42):
You're gonna have to say to your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren,
guess what, I'm not paying for your college education any
longer your car payments. I'm not paying for your end.
I'm not sending you to Europe. You'll have to pay
for your own way. If you're going to promote Johann
Mondamian vote for Zara Mandami. My father and mother used
to tell me, hey, look, as long as you live
in this household, as long as we pay your bills,
(07:03):
you'll do it my way, our way, or you can
hit the highway.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Yeah, it's not like that. It's not like that.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
You can't lecture everyone. When forty percent of the Jewish
vote in the Democratic primary went for Zara Mandami and
those were the millennials and gen zas, now they were
somebody's sons and daughters and somebody's grandchildren, right, did anyone
not take the time to have a conversation with them?
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Yeah? I get it all, but you have a tough
road to ho don't your First of all, you're Republican,
and so people aren't gonna like you right away because
you're a Republican. It seems like Eric Adams may either
drop out of the race, but he's going to be
a non factor, so they're not going to split the
vote like you hope they would. What is your path
to victory?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Well, with Eric Adams, I get vertigo. I mean every
other day it's a drama, soap, opera, novella. Please for
your own supporters, stay in or get out. You know
he's probably loving every second of this. But again, another
great day for Zara Mandami because nobody's talking about issues.
I'm in it. When the ten days ends, I'll be
(08:04):
opening up my third headquarters and the fly Puts section
of Brooklyn. I've opened them up in Brownsville, Brooklyn. No,
no Republican ever had Brownsville, Brooklyn, Howard Beach, Bay Ridge, Bronks.
I don't see Cuomo opening up any headquarters and sid
I mean that's it. But in the case of Eric Adams,
his his campaign has collapsed. To do what you want,
(08:27):
but I have also the independent line protect Animals, and
that calls for no kill shelters and for putting animal
abuses in jail, and that resonates with a lot of
women who might never vote for me as a Republican,
but does say I'm going to vote for you because
nobody else is talking animal rights issues except for critically.
And his wife Nancy, who was featured in our first commercials.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
She was wonderful. You should have her out in front more.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Not only that, notice I didn't say a word in
those holes.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
A miracle, yep, exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
That's the best part of being Aslee as my wife Nancy.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
She was wonderful. She could do voice over work that
she has a great voice. Thanks so much, courteously, come
back again anytime you want. We'd love to have you.
We're pulling for you. Thank you so much, my pleasure.
Thank you though
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