Andrew Cuomo is facing backlash after making controversial comments while appearing on MSNBC’s The Weekend. Cuomo, who is running for New York City mayor, downplayed the importance of diversity within the biggest city in the U.S.

“Our diversity is our strength, but it can also be a weakness,” Cuomo said on The Weekend, according to The New York Times. “So you have to work very, very hard to make sure you’re always keeping people united, and there’s always flare-ups among different races, religions, creeds for one reason or another.”

The Weekend co-host Eugene Daniels asked Cuomo to clarify his comments. As Cuomo explained his statement, however, he mistook Daniels for his The Weekend co-host Jonathan Capehart, who is also Black.

“Diversity can be a weakness if you have antipathy among groups, Jonathan,” Cuomo said. “If you have racism or antisemitism, etc., so then you’d have friction, right? Which we have had in New York. And so you have to work very hard to keep it as a positive and to make sure that it’s not a negative and you have zero tolerance for any racism, any antisemitism, etc.”

Cuomo’s spokesperson, Rich Azzopardi, later explained that Cuomo confused Daniels and Capehart because he was sitting “in a mobile van unit with an earpiece and staring directly into the camera and couldn’t tell who was talking.”

Throughout his campaign, Cuomo has been accused of making Islamophobic comments when it comes to his comments about frontrunner Zohran Mamdani.

One of Cuomo’s most recent controversial moments happened when he sat down for an interview with conservative radio host Sid Rosenberg, who told Cuomo that Mamdani would cheer for another Sept. 11 attack. Instead of denouncing Rosenberg’s comments, Cuomo quipped, “That’s another problem.”

During his interview on The Weekend, Cuomo was asked if he would denounce Islamophobic comments surrounding Mamdani, to which Cuomo replied, “100 percent.”

Zohran Mamdani is the clear frontrunner for New York City mayor

A recent Quinnipiac poll shows Mamdani leading Cuomo by 10 points in the race for New York City mayor, according to The Black Information Network. Mamdani, who has continued to defend himself from Islamophobic comments throughout the campaign, recently called out Cuomo and current New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

“It’s no surprise to see two men who share an affinity for corruption and Trump capitulation align themselves at the behest of the billionaire class and the president himself,” Mamdani said, according to The Black Information Network.

The 2025 New York City mayoral election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 4.