Comedian Michael Rapaport Announces NYC Mayoral Run, Blasts Leadership Over Antisemitic Attacks

Comedian and actor Michael Rapaport has announced he is running for mayor of New York City in 2029, citing what he calls a failure of leadership in responding to a recent wave of antisemitic incidents.

During a televised interview, Rapaport expressed particular frustration with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whom he sharply criticized following attacks outside synagogues in Brooklyn and Queens.

“I never thought that I would even consider running for mayor of New York City, and I will do it with the best intentions,” Rapaport said. “There’s no way to out-finesse this guy. It has to be a dog fight. It has to be ugly.”

Rapaport described Mamdani as “the greatest bull——— artist in the history of politicians” and said the only way to defeat him is with a “New York City street fight mentality.”

The comedian warned that escalating violence outside synagogues would lead to a fatality. “Someone’s going to die. And I hope and pray that something’s done before that,” he said. “The fact that these animals, these scumbags, are able to protest outside a synagogue with a mask on their face, harassing people, intimidating people — at the very least, Kathy Hochul should have banned the masks.”

Rapaport accused Mamdani of not believing that Israel has the right to exist and referenced the mayor’s wife and October 7th social media activity, saying, “We know what his wife thinks. She was … he was tweeting on October 7th, liking the murdering, the rapes.”

He also criticized what he described as a lack of unity from political leaders, comparing the current moment unfavorably to past leadership during the Crown Heights unrest. “The cavalry is not coming,” Rapaport said. “Jewish people need to come to terms with it. There is no Dinkins. There is no marching. If the cavalry was coming, they would have shown up already.”

Referring to a recent incident at Gracie Mansion, Rapaport claimed, “The only reason why that wasn’t a big deal and people forgot about that a couple of weeks ago is because, unfortunately, the bombs didn’t go off.”

He said Jewish New Yorkers are now uncomfortable wearing religious symbols in public. “The fact Jewish people in New York are uncomfortable walking around with stores — you people in New York City are uncomfortable wearing kippahs if this is it.”

Rapaport vowed to remain in the race unless a more qualified candidate emerges who can defeat Mamdani. “I will only drop out until I feel like there’s somebody who’s more qualified that could actually beat Soor-on,” he said, appearing to refer to the mayor.

He also claimed Mamdani surrounds himself only with “passive Jewish people” who are not telling him “the reality and the truth.”

The interview concluded with Rapaport reaffirming his love for the city but warning that violence will continue to worsen. “What happened in Brooklyn last night was the worst one out of all the protests,” he said. “And it’s just going to get worse and worse and worse.”