Tipsheet

Despite Mamdani's Troubling Anti-Gay Ties, Pete Buttigieg Says He Has the 'Capacity to Be a Great Mayor'

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  October 27, 2025 1:45 PM

The likely next mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, has a new fan in former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Mayor Pete, who has an eye on running for the White House in 2028, added his two cents to the Big Apple's upcoming election, criticizing fellow Democrat Andrew Cuomo while singing Mamdani's praises.

Here's more from The New York Post:

Possible 2028 presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg tore into former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and gushed over socialist Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani.

Buttigieg, who has previously praised Mamdani’s “extraordinary” campaign, stopped short of endorsing the far-left Democrat but commended his efforts to “bring people together.”

“I don’t live in New York, but I think he has the capacity to be a great mayor,” Buttigieg exulted to CNN.

In other words, Buttigieg has no skin in the game. Mamdani's policies won't negatively impact him and his family. As one of the first openly gay Cabinet members, Buttigieg seems to have missed the problematic ties Mamdani has to anti-gay politicians like Uganda's Rebecca Kadaga, who supported legislation that would imprison Ugandan gays for life. Or Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who called gays the "disease of society" and urged Muslims to bully gays into joining Islam. Even Mamdani's father, Mahmood Mamdani, has a history of anti-gay behavior, according to a Ugandan professor Stella Nyanzi, who accused the elder Mamdani of "padlocking her office, withholding her pay, and pushing her out of his department at Makerere University."

How those policies make Mamdani a "great mayor," Buttigieg didn't elaborate on.

It's becoming increasingly clear Democrats believe guys like Mamdani — a Democratic Socialist — are the future leaders of their party. Mamdani has racked up endorsements from several prominent Democrats, including NY Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), and now Pete Buttigieg.