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Bill Maher Endorses Cuomo, Says Mamdani 'Campaigned With a Terrorist' on Real Time

Kate Bedingfield pushed back after the HBO host questioned a photo with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, then raised Mamdani's Ugandan citizenship.

Overview

  • Maher told viewers Mamdani "campaigned with a terrorist," pointing to a recent photo and asserting it was with Imam Siraj Wahhaj.
  • Explaining the charge, Maher noted Wahhaj was named an unindicted co‑conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center case and was a character witness for Omar Abdelrahman; Wahhaj was never charged and has denied wrongdoing.
  • Maher also highlighted Mamdani’s dual citizenship, citing Uganda’s anti‑LGBT laws, and said he would renounce such citizenship if it tied him to a country that "kill[s] homosexuals."
  • Bedingfield criticized the line of attack as buying into a "fear framework" and called Andrew Cuomo’s earlier rhetoric about Mamdani and terrorism "ugly," referencing a claim that Mamdani would "cheer" another 9/11.
  • Maher endorsed Cuomo as a more "normal" choice for Democrats and downplayed prior misconduct findings about him, even as reporting noted Mamdani leads Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa by double digits in most polls.