2 days ago
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At a furious dog-whistle pitch, podcaster and occasional actor Michael Rapaport has trumpeted his candidacy for the 2029 mayoral elections in New York City, launching a bid against current mayor Zohran Mamdani, whom he considers “evil.”
Via EW, Rapaport initially made the announcement in an Instagram post where he emphasized that he was born in NYC, in contrast to the Uganda-born Mamdani. “Born. Raised. NYC. Nothing’s free. No bullshit. No fake grins. I’ll own my mistakes, apologize when I screw up, and fight to make this city safe, affordable, and thriving,” he said. Accompanying text misspelled Mamdani’s first name: “You got Zoron the Moron now… Mayor Rapaport is coming.”
He expanded on his intentions on the latest edition of his I Am Rapaport podcast, the Masked Singer contestant fleshed out his campaign: “Welcome to the ziggy zone of disruption. My name is Michael Rapaport, a.k.a. Mayor Rapaport. Mr. Mayor Rapaport, a.k.a. The Gringo Mandingo, a.k.a. The Enflamed Ashkenazi, a.k.a. The Sultan of Sniff.”
One of those nicknames, “The Enflamed Ashkenazi,” hints at the source of his fears. Mamdani is a democratic socialist who in the past has vocally criticized the country of Israel, though he softened his positions during the mayoral campaign as he sought to appeal to moderates. Still, many Jewish New Yorkers fear that Mamdani is anti-Semitic, as Rapaport hinted at towards the end of his podcast.
“Do I think people are going to be getting chased around New York City with pitchforks? No, but he is softening the palate for so many fucking things. He’s got a huge fucking ego,” Rapaport said.
“He’s got a fucking evil fucking grin. And I think he’s up to no good.”
English (US) · 