Andrew Cuomo Gets Torched From All Sides in NYC Mayoral Debate

Throwing barbs was the name of the game in New York City’s mayoral debate, but one major player left the scene more battered than bruised: Andrew Cuomo.

The disgraced former governor’s presence on the stage practically unified both major political parties Thursday evening, as Cuomo faced condemnation from Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa as well as Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani.

Cuomo’s persistence in the race (despite the fact that he lost the Democratic primary) has only served to underscore the power of money in politics. Cuomo was forced to resign from the governor’s mansion in 2021 after he was deemed too corrupt for Albany. After his resignation, the Department of Justice determined Cuomo had sexually harassed 13 women over an eight-year period. But despite those facts, Cuomo continues to enjoy hefty financial backing from wealthy conservatives.

The details of Cuomo’s resignation were not lost on his opponents, who took the opportunity on New York City’s debate stage to remind Cuomo of his local reputation when he attempted to frame himself as the candidate who could end Donald Trump’s browbeating.

“The president is going to back down to you?” Sliwa said. “Andrew Cuomo, I know you think you’re the toughest guy alive, but let me tell you something, you lost your own primary. You were rejected by your Democrats. You have a difficulty understanding what the term ‘no’ is.”

“I agree with Curtis,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani, who is Muslim, also accused Cuomo of fanning Islamophobic sentiment during his bid, and pressed him on his failure to properly address Muslim communities in New York City, which comprise about 10 percent of New York’s population.

“It took Andrew Cuomo being beaten by a Muslim candidate in the Democratic primary for him to set foot in a mosque,” Mamdani said. “He had more than 10 years and he couldn’t name a single mosque at the last debate we had that he visited.

“It took me to get you to even see those Muslims as a part of this city,” Mamdani continued, emphasizing that Muslims want “equality” and “respect” like any other community.

But that’s not the only major scandal that New Yorkers remember Cuomo for: He also attempted to cover up his own bad policy that exacerbated New York’s nursing home deaths during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mamdani faced tough questions over his lack of experience in relation to his senior debate counterparts, but he made the difference between himself and Cuomo very clear.

“What I don’t have in experience, I make up for in integrity,” Mamdani told Cuomo. “What you don’t have in integrity, you could never make up for in experience.”

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker slammed White House deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, claiming that the ghoulish policy adviser was committing elder abuse against President Donald Trump.

During an interview on MSNBC Thursday about Trump’s federal takeover of Chicago, host Jen Psaki asked Pritzker to expand on a previous comment he’d made claiming that Miller was “abusing the fact that Donald Trump has diminished capacity.”

“It’s clear that Donald Trump has diminished capacity,” Pritzker said. “Which I think is sad, you know, that the people around him are not getting him help, and instead they’re just taking advantage of him. And that’s what Stephen Miller is. You can tell.”

Pritzker pointed to Miller’s “out of bounds” rhetoric and claimed that he was the true engine behind the actions of the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Border Patrol.  

“We know that he’s the one who is advising Kristi Noem at DHS, he’s the one who’s advising Tom Homan … and of course he’s the spokesperson for this entire endeavor including about deploying National Guard into cities,” Pritzker said. 

“He seems like a dangerous individual,” Pritzker continued. “And he has the power of the presidency, because the president isn’t reining him in.”

In executing Trump’s extreme immigration policy, Miller has pushed for the degradation of due process; amplified “remigration,” a far-right theory of ethnic cleansing; and suggested that the president has a “plenary authority”—but it doesn’t seem like Trump would be the one using it. Last week, Miller suggested that it was he, not Trump, who was calling the shots in regard to deportation raids and National Guard deployments.

Earlier this week, Miller raged at Pritzker for pushing back against Trump’s federal takeover in Chicago, calling him a “fool” and a “moron” who “hates America.”

In the latest indication that ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee are becoming a political liability in Democratic politics, Senate candidate and Democratic Representative Seth Moulton of Massachusetts publicly parted ways with the lobbying group on Thursday.

“In recent years, AIPAC has aligned itself too closely with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government,” Moulton wrote. “I’m a friend of Israel, but not of its current government, and AIPAC’s mission today is to back that government. I don’t support that direction. That’s why I’ve decided to return the donations I’ve received and will not be accepting their support.”

Moulton on Wednesday announced he will be challenging progressive Senator Ed Markey in the upcoming 2026 primary, arguing that the 79-year-old incumbent ought to yield to “a new generation of leadership for Democrats and for America.”

Moulton joins three other Democratic members of Congress who recently vowed to stop accepting AIPAC money: Representatives Morgan McGarvey, Deborah Ross, and Valerie Foushee.

The commitment, from the moderate Massachusetts Democrat, shows the extent of Democratic backlash to the horrors inflicted on Gaza by Israel. A recent Quinnipiac poll found that a greater percentage of Democrats see supporting Israel as “not in the national interest” than “in the national interest,” and 70 percent of Democrats view Netanyahu unfavorably.

Perhaps naturally, then, it appears AIPAC’s brand is undergoing what Dylan Williams of the Center for International Policy called “NRA-ization,” in a nod to Democrats’ resentment of the National Rifle Association. As Semafor’s David Weigel recently observed, “telling voters that you won’t seek AIPAC’s support” has become a “powerful argument” for Democratic primary candidates.

Donald Trump’s latest domestic initiative aims to make in vitro fertilization accessible to the American market. That will, fortunately, be an easy win: It was already legalized 44 years ago.

The White House announced two new efforts Thursday, including a partnership with pharmaceutical company EMD Serono that Trump said would reduce the cost of some fertility medications, including Gonal-f, one of the company’s most popular products that treats infertility in men and women.

But Trump also flagged that new federal guidance was on the way to “vastly expand” insurance coverage for fertility care, which, according to him, “was not covered.”

“Effective immediately, for the first time ever, we will make it legal for companies to offer supplemental insurance plans specifically for fertility. That’s never been done before,” Trump said.

That’s just not true: Employer-backed fertility coverage was on the rise, as of last year. A September 2024 report from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans found that 42 percent of U.S. employers provided fertility and family planning benefits—up from 30 percent the year before.

How the Trump administration intends to enforce the program is unclear. The cost of one IVF cycle can vary wildly across the U.S., falling anywhere between $12,000 to more than $30,000, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services. But despite the sacrifice, it’s no guarantee that a cycle will produce a child, no matter the number of eggs someone starts with. Studies have found that roughly two-thirds of patients will have a successful outcome after five or six IVF cycles, posing a tough conundrum for American businesses that intend to comply with the order.

But the high cost of IVF is far from the only reason behind America’s lagging birth rate. Young people cite reasons ranging from economic instability to climate change as their rationale for skipping out on the childrearing chapter. Other pressures, such as the financial burdens of student loan debt and unrealistic housing costs, have also disillusioned Americans in their twenties and thirties from the possibility of creating the next generation.

Trump embraced the hot topic of IVF while on the campaign trail last year, after the Alabama Supreme Court deemed that frozen embryos were human beings, granting them legal rights while practically eradicating IVF and abortion access across the state.

And the MAGA leader is far from being the procedure’s savior. Despite dubbing himself the “Father of IVF,” Trump axed a team of researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention focused on infertility research and assisted reproductive technology in April, paring down federal efforts to better understand the impacts of IVF.

At the behest of the Justice Department, a Maryland federal grand jury on Thursday criminally indicted former Trump national security adviser John Bolton on 18 criminal counts for allegedly mishandling classified information.

Bolton was charged with eight counts of transmission of national defense information (NDI) and 10 counts of unlawful retention of NDI.

“I think he’s a bad person, I think he’s a bad guy.... That’s the way it goes, right?” Trump, who has pushed for the prosecution of his enemies, said when asked about the news.

“The FBI’s investigation revealed that John Bolton allegedly transmitted top secret information using personal online accounts and retained said documents in his house in direct violation of federal law,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. “The case was based on meticulous work from dedicated career professionals at the FBI who followed the facts without fear or favor. Weaponization of justice will not be tolerated, and this FBI will stop at nothing to bring to justice anyone who threatens our national security.”

According to sources who spoke with CNN, Bolton allegedly shared classified information with his wife and daughter over email. The indictment notes that as national security adviser, Bolton sent “diary-like entries” to two unnamed relatives using “email accounts hosted by AOL and Google.”

This summer, the FBI, directly authorized by Director Kash Patel, raided Bolton’s home in Maryland as well as his office in Washington, D.C., and reportedly seized classified documents.

Bolton served 17 months in the first Trump administration before making a heel turn, becoming one of the president’s harshest critics from the right. Last year, he said Trump “hasn’t got the brains” to be a dictator, and that he wasn’t smart enough for fascism. “To be a fascist, you have to have a philosophy. Trump’s not capable of that.”

Bolton is the third Trump critic to be indicted, as the president seeks revenge on anyone who has dared to hold him accountable. Former FBI Director James Comey was the first to be indicted last month, followed by New York Attorney General Letitia James last week.

This story has been updated.

President Donald Trump announced a deal Thursday to bring discounted fertility drugs to Americans—but don’t ask him what they’re called, because he doesn’t seem to know.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump stumbled repeatedly while explaining which fertility drugs would be available through TrumpRx, a recently announced service where consumers can procure cheap prescription drugs from the U.S. government.

Trump said that EMD Serono would sell drugs through the platform at “very, very heavily reduced prices,” and that included “the most popular drug of all, the uh, the IVF drug: Go-Nahl-Eff.”

“So, it’s Gonal F. Is that a proper pronunciation? Close enough, right?” Trump asked, referring to Gonal-F, a medication used by people undergoing fertility treatments or in-vitro fertilization.

Trump added that the Federal Drug Administration would work directly with EMD Serono to approve a drug currently sold in Europe. “It’s Purgo-verius. Per-go-varus,” Trump repeated slowly, referring to Pergoveris, another fertility drug.

“And that doesn’t sound—why can’t you name them nice simple things?” Trump said, slurring his words, sparking laughter from the audience around him.

In a press release published by EMD Serono, the company said that in return for offering a discount, its products would be exempt from Trump’s steep tariffs—an agreement that doesn’t sound extortionate at all.

Trump appeared to have no idea what he was talking about, and seemed to have never read the piece of paper in front of him before he began speaking—more than 40 minutes late. He even remarked, “Wow!” after reading one statistic.

Still, Trump’s latest announcement falls far short of his outlandish campaign promise to make IVF free. Now he’s just found a way for the government to profit.

Trump’s struggling with drug names isn’t new. Just a few weeks ago, he botched an announcement linking autism to Tylenol, or as Trump would say: “As-cen-em-enophin.”

TrumpRx, the president’s scheme to transform the federal government into a pharmacy, is already raising red flags for legal and health experts. They warn that the marketing gimmick isn’t likely to help the average American and could actually expose private information to a government that clearly doesn’t know how to handle it.

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott joined his party’s fearmongering about upcoming nationwide “No Kings” protests, promising to use the National Guard to crack down on hypothetical violence at the peaceful demonstration planned for Austin.

“Today, I directed the Dept. of Public Safety and National Guard to surge forces into Austin ahead of an Antifa-linked protest,” Abbott wrote on X Thursday, referring to the No Kings event scheduled for Saturday. “Texas will NOT tolerate chaos.”

“DPS law enforcement personnel, including state troopers, Special Agents, and Texas Rangers, along with Texas National Guard soldiers, will be surged to the Austin area to maintain law and order,” the governor specified in a statement. “This is in addition to the thousands of DPS troopers already stationed throughout the state. These law enforcement officers and soldiers will be supported by aircraft and other tactical assets.”

Abbott also said the homeland security division of the public safety department will be “actively monitoring” the protest and will “investigate any links to known terrorist organizations.”

Texas Democrats have condemned Abbott’s escalation against a demonstration that, notably, names “peaceful, lawful action” as its “core principle.”

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder accused Abbott of “suck[ing] up to Donald Trump,” saying, “We do not need an unnecessary display of force at the expense of taxpayers on a peaceful protest.” Texas House of Representatives Minority Leader Gene Wu said Abbott’s plan to send “armed soldiers to suppress peaceful protests is what kings and dictators do.”

In response—and stark contrast—to the governor’s announcement, Sophia Mirto, one of the No Kings organizers, told a local news outlet: “We hope that any additional law enforcement agencies deployed by the governor will enjoy our event, live music from local Austin artists, and the hard-working Americans who are joining together in solidarity, celebration and to discover more than 50 organizations working together to make Texas a better place to live.

“We are disappointed that the governor is choosing to spend Texans’ tax money on deploying additional resources to police a nonviolent, First Amendment event,” Mirto continued, “when there are so many Texans in need of housing, transportation, health care, quality education and there are still victims of the devastating July 4 flood right here in Central Texas that need the governor to sign an executive order providing aid.”

After the previous No Kings demonstration in Austin in June, which was circus-themed, the mayor applauded its peaceful nature, saying participants “made their voices heard—and did it in the right way.” The Austin Police Department said it was “largely peaceful,” despite a “small number of agitators”—the most noteworthy incident seemingly being a threat of violence made against lawmakers who participated in the protest.

Ahead of the June event, Abbott also deployed state troopers and Texas National Guardsmen “across the state.” But this time, his actions and rhetoric reflect a broader, preposterous GOP campaign to demonize the benign protests as a dangerous antifa- and terrorist-linked rally.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is not only dragging out Democratic Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva’s long awaited swearing-in ceremony—he’s also treating it as entertainment value.

Republican leadership has refused to swear in Grijalva until Congress returns to its regular session, despite the fact the party swore in a pair of Florida Republicans during a pro forma session just earlier this year.

Johnson brushed off concern about the ongoing delays during an interview with CNBC Thursday, accusing Arizona’s elected officials of simply seeking attention as they fight to instate Grijalva and obtain constitutionally required representation for the Grand Canyon state’s 7th congressional district.

“I’m shocked that another Democrat politician from Arizona is seeking publicity right now,” Johnson snarked to CNBC. “Now the state [attorney general] is involved and she’s going to sue me.”

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes warned Johnson Tuesday that he was leaving her with “no other choice” than to take him to court for refusing to swear in Grijalva.

“It’s all a farce,” Johnson continued. “Let me tell you what’s happening here. Rep-elect Grijalva was elected after the House went out of session. So I have said this repeatedly: I am delighted to administer the oath to her, as soon as we get back to legislative session.”

The Louisiana Republican then attempted to extort Grijalva’s seat, claiming that the representative-elect could assume her duty as soon as Arizona’s two Democratic senators vote to reopen the government.

“If [Senators Ruben] Gallegos and [Mark] Kelly would vote to reopen the government, we’ll get this thing done quickly,” Johnson said, mispronouncing Gallego’s name.

Grijalva became the first Latina that Arizona has sent to Congress when she won an election to determine the replacement for her late father, Raul Grijalva. She’s also the last signature that the House needs on a petition to force a vote on releasing government documents related to the investigation of deceased pedophilic sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Grijalva’s swearing-in appears to be background noise for Republican House leadership, which is floundering to muster solutions to a gridlock over continuous funding for Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget and its seismic cuts to Obamacare subsidies and Medicaid.

But there’s plenty of precedent for Grijalva to be sworn in even in such complicated circumstances. For instance, the entire House was sworn in during a shutdown in 2019, during Trump’s first term.

Grijalva has already vowed to sign the bipartisan petition advancing the immediate release of the Epstein files. Just four Republicans have penned their signatures on the petition, demanding more transparency from the Trump administration regarding the investigation into Epstein and his potential associates. Those conservative lawmakers include Representatives Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace, and Lauren Boebert.

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell tripped and fell in the Senate building Thursday, adding another worrying incident to his long list of public health issues.

McConnell, with the help of an aide, can be seen on video walking through the Senate halls while a woman asks him about ICE. 

“Do you support ICE taking working people off the streets and kidnapping them?” the woman asks. Then McConnell abruptly falls to the ground as if he tripped over something. His aide and a police officer help him to his feet, as he turns and waves sheepishly to the woman while saying something inaudible. He then walks away. 

McConnell’s age has long been a catalyst for conversations about gerontocracy and congressional term limits in the U.S. In 2023, he had his infamous freezing moment during a press conference, and colleagues have long noted that he often appears checked out and hard of hearing. 

McConnell is not the first active politician to experience symptoms of age publicly. The late Senator Dianne Feinstein had issues with memory and processing while she was still in office. Senator John Kennedy had a McConnell-like freeze-up just this summer. And of course, former President Joe Biden had countless moments of mental incapacity. That is what happens when you age. But the issue is that all of these folks refused to admit it, and hold onto power for far too long.  

In justifying U.S. escalations against Venezuela and describing its regime as “illegitimate,” a top Trump diplomat on Thursday—in the height of irony—cited a New York criminal case against the country’s president.

Mike Waltz, President Donald Trump’s U.N. ambassador, was asked Thursday on Fox News about the administration’s plans for Venezuela. Trump recently authorized covert CIA operations against Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, and has publicly considered conducting land strikes on the country.

Waltz told Fox News that Maduro is an “illegitimate leader, convicted in the Southern District of New York,” adding that the U.S. will “do whatever it takes” to dismantle Venezuelan “terrorist gangs.”

Notably, Maduro was not convicted, but rather charged with narcoterrorism and other offenses, in New York’s Southern District in 2020. He has not been apprehended nor stood trial, and the Trump administration has a $50 million bounty out on information leading to his arrest. (Venezuela’s foreign minister at the time called the charges against Maduro “miserable, vulgar, and unfounded,” and consistent with a U.S. “policy of forced regime change in Venezuela.”)

And of course, if a conviction in New York is such a stigma, as Waltz suggests, then Trump is in deep trouble. Trump became the first felonious president in May 2024, convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records by a New York State Supreme Court jury—whose verdict he is appealing.

Waltz, a congressman at the time, cried election interference.