New York City under self-described democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani would not be protected against violent crimes and potential terrorist attacks, retired NYPD Detective Bo Dietl told Newsmax on Tuesday.
Dietl, a member of President Donald Trump's Homeland Security Advisory Council, appeared on Newsmax's "Newsline" the day after a man stalked through a Manhattan office tower firing a rifle, killing four people, including a New York City police officer, and wounding a fifth before taking his own life.
Host Bianca de la Garza showed Dietl and viewers a social media post in which Democrat mayoral nominee Mamdani said, "We don't need an investigation to know the NYPD is racist, anti-queer and a major threat to public safety." He also called for the police to be defunded.
"This is just somebody who the kids are jumping on board," Dietl said of Mamdani. "Oh, we're going to have free bus. We're going to have free this, free that. This is such a total nonsense. And right now, the people in New York City have to realize we need more police than ever.
"My worry, and when I saw this happen, is a terrorist attack. And don't think that they're not sitting there thinking about what they're going to do next. I need to protect our city. And people in New York City have to realize with Mamdani, this is not going to be a protected city. It's going to be anarchy."
Dietl said the NYPD already is suffering from a decrease in officers.
"He [Mamdani] wants to defund," Dietl said. "A lot of people don't know. The New York Police Department is down near 30,000 from 40,000. The detective division is down 4,000 detectives from 8,000. People are not taking the job.
"Then you got this guy Mamdani talking about defunding. New York City is the greatest city in the world. It's the capital [of the] world and any of these people that are going to listen to him..."
Dietl also said Mamdani's claim that the NYPD is "racist" is not true.
"Approximately 65% of the New York City Police Department is nonwhite. That means minorities control at least 65%, maybe 70% with Asian, Black, Hispanics," Dietl said. "And this guy here, Mamdani, doesn't have a clue. All he does is talk, open his mouth.
"And all these kids on Instagram and TikTok all follow this idiot saying, 'I'm going to give you this. I'm going to get' ... where are you going to get the money to pay? And when the people paying the taxes move out of the city, you'll have no city service."
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Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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