Andrew Cuomo slammed for ‘embarrassing’ AI Halloween attack ad on Zohran Mamdani

With the New York mayoral election just days away, independent candidate Andrew Cuomo has taken to social media on Halloween to try to warn voters against Democratic rival and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa – with the help of “embarrassing” AI-generated content.

Cuomo, who lost the Democratic primary to Mamdani in June but decided to subsequently run as an independent, shared the video with the title “A Zohran Halloween Special”.

In the AI ad, which is just short of two minutes long, Mamdani knocks on the door of one family as a trick-or-treater, and when they ask what his costume is, the Democrat replies: “Duh, I’m a socialist!”

He then proceeds to scoop up multiple sweets with both hands, before screaming and shouting the word “defund” when a child dressed as a police officer approaches the same house.

When the man in the doorway tells Mamdani he is “ruining Halloween”, the politician agrees and says: “And I’m about to ruin New York City if you make me mayor. See, I’m a socialist; some people need to get tricked so others get a treat.”

After slamming the door in Mamdani’s face, the couple open the door to another trick-or-treater, only for this to be Sliwa wearing a Mamdani mask.

“Relax, it’s just me, Curtis Sliwa, the red beret guy running for mayor with no shot of winning … at this point, I’m so far behind, a vote for me is a vote for Mamdani.

“Anyway, I hope you guys have enough candy. Each of my cats is dressed up as a different cat from the musical, Cats,” he said.

Multiple polls place Mamdani in first place to become the next mayor of New York, with leads over Cuomo in second place ranging from 10 points to 25 points.

And after Cuomo shared the AI video, social media users have criticised the “embarrassing” use of artificial intelligence:

One called for the banning of AI from political campaigns, describing it as “gross and unethical”:

Another shared a version of the Martin Scorsese “absolute cinema” meme to brand the video “absolute a**”:

A third shared a GIF of a basketball player consistently missing the hoop, labelling it “Cuomo’s campaign”:

And podcaster Manny Fidel contrasted the Cuomo ad with what Mamdani was actually getting up to on Halloween, which was meeting trick-or-treaters in Brooklyn:

The election takes place on 4 November, with early voting already underway.

Why not read…

• Zohran Mamdani shuts down Andrew Cuomo in Mayoral debate
• Mamdani ridiculed over bench press - but Cuomo’s response is worse

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