Mamdani Rejects 'Woke 1' Label, Defends Police Funding

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani faced questions Wednesday about his stance on the so-called "Woke 1" era, a label Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently used to describe the past. The Representative told ABC's "This Week" that she thinks people must judge candidates based on their current statements.

Mamdani pushed back against the idea that views are static. He argued that individuals can change and develop their beliefs over time. He acknowledged that some people still hold onto old ideas, but he insists everyone has a duty to tell voters what they believe right now.

The mayor made his position on police funding very clear during the press conference. He stated firmly that he does not support defunding the police. Instead, he said delivering public safety requires working alongside law enforcement and other partners. His administration has seen results in this approach. The city recorded its fewest murders and shooting incidents in seven months under his leadership.

Mamdani also clarified his distance from the Democratic Socialists of America's abolition platform during a Friday radio appearance. He defended prisons, jails, and the current police force. While he praised NYPD efforts, he insisted safety cannot come at the cost of justice. His goal is for New Yorkers to receive both without having to choose between them.

The conversation touched on some controversial past actions by Mamdani. On June 28, 2020, he posted a message calling the NYPD racist and anti-queer. He demanded they be defunded and dismantled. In December of that same year, he repeated the call for dismantlement. These earlier tweets have drawn fire from various groups.

Critics on the left also took issue with Ocasio-Cortez's attempt to laugh off the "Woke 1" label as a thing of the past. They pointed out specific budget battles involving overtime costs. The City Council once tried to cut NYPD overtime by half, but the department refused to negotiate. This refusal led some to argue that certain institutions cannot be negotiated with.

Fox News Digital contacted the mayor's office for additional comment. They did not receive an immediate response.

End the cycle of violence," he wrote.

David Laska, who serves as Communications Director for the New York State Republican Party, pushed back hard against Zohran Mamdani during a comment to Fox News Digital. Laska claimed Mamdani was trying to brush aside what he called the radical extremism of years past.

"Americans will never forget and never forgive the radical extremism of the 'woke' era," Laska stated plainly. "In that time, countless people had their livelihoods ripped away for espousing conservative values." He pointed to specific beliefs as examples, noting these included positions that men have no place in women's spaces and that our border should be secure. These were described as overwhelmingly popular views at the time.

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Laska called out what he saw as hypocrisy from his opponents. "How ironic, and how utterly shameless, that the same people who perpetrated that evil are now the ones asking us to not hold their past statements against them," he said. He insisted Americans were too smart to fall for such a trick. The argument was clear: voters would spot radical DSA candidates lying about their views once they started running for office because they know that Americans would reject them.

Laska did not mince words when describing Mamdani's stance. "Zohran Mamdani is a defund-the-police, Hamas-supporting radical socialist," he declared. He noted that supporters knew this because the candidate had told them so himself. According to Laska, the only way to fight back is to vote Republican up and down the ballot in November.