As New York City teeters on the brink of potentially electing Zohran Mamdani, a vehemently anti-police and socialist-leaning candidate, as its first Muslim mayor, Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis has issued a direct and fervent appeal to the city's police force.
DeSantis posed a poignant question to the NYPD officers, asking, Do you really want to risk your life for a city led by someone who despises you?
This question is underscored by a series of grave concerns about the kind of mayor Mamdani might turn out to be, especially in relation to law enforcement in the city. Mamdani's stance on law enforcement, despite his recent attempts to sidestep the issue, was made abundantly clear in 2020 through his online posts expressing a strong anti-police sentiment.
"No, we want to defund the police," Mamdani stated in June 2020. Later in the year, he declared, "Queer liberation means defund the police," and labeled the NYPD as "racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety." He also criticized budget compromises, stating, "NO to fake cuts, defund the police."
By December 2020, his rhetoric had escalated: "There is no negotiating with an institution this wicked and corrupt. Defund it. Dismantle it. End the cycle of violence."
This is a typical example of irrational rationalization. Instead of advocating for judicial systems in Democrat-controlled cities to halt their revolving-door policy for career criminals, Mamdani, along with other police-detesting leftists, seems to believe that law enforcement is the problem, not the lawbreakers.
However, one might question whether leftists like Mamdani genuinely believe that law enforcement is the issue, or if they are more interested in currying favor with the criminal elements of society, with an eye on the ballot box.
During an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday, DeSantis told host Martha MacCallum:
"We'll see what happens in the election, but if he [Mamdani] is elected, I think it will be an example of the voters of New York City committing an act of ballistic podiatry because it is going to come back and bite the city. He is so far left, and he mixes his leftism with Islamism. He's gonna make the [former NYC Mayor Bill] de Blasio years look like the golden days."
DeSantis further emphasized the impact of such a leadership change on Florida, stating:
"Just with the law enforcement alone, if you're working in NYPD, do you want to go out there and risk your life, knowing that the mayor hates you? No a lot of them are not going to want to do that, and in Florida we've established a five-thousand-dollar recruitment bonus, so if you are somebody who doesn't want to serve under that guy as mayor, you come to Florida any state or local law enforcement agency you get five thousand dollars right at the top."
According to RedState, DeSantis continued his critique of Mamdani's policies, stating:
"If you say youre going to disband the NYPD, if you put the criminals back on the street, if you engage in far-Left policies that would make George Soros blush, people do respond to that. And of all the people that have migrated to Florida since Ive been governor, I would say the number one reason theyve left places like New York City under De Blasio, like theyve left Chicago under this mayor and the previous mayor, like leaving San Francisco and Los Angeles is public safety. Those leftist politicians turn their backs on the police, turn their backs on the rule of law, and then the citizens were the ones that paid the price."
If Zohran Mamdani does indeed become New York City's next mayor, a significant portion of the city's voters will have willingly set themselves up for a harsh lesson. However, for any New York City police officer unwilling to risk their life for a mayor who despises their very existence, Florida's weather might be a welcome change, especially this time of year.
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