Mamdani Mocks Vance’s Claims About New York
On November 3, Vice President JD Vance’s post touting Trump administration achievements in New York was drawing scrutiny after Mayor Zohran Mamdani responded with a viral video. Vance had posted on November 2, the eve of the midterm elections, that the administration had New York’s back and listed claims about crime, immigration and economic gains.
The figures included a 48% drop in murders, $32 billion in paycheck support, a typical tax refund worth $3,843 and more than $472 billion in tech-company investment. An X Community Note said some figures were not federal results or specific to New York, and that the investment total combined nationwide pledges.
The note said Micron’s $250 billion figure covered projects across the country, including a $100 billion New York site, while Anthropic’s $50 billion investment was split between Texas and New York. It also attributed the 48% murder decline to New York’s state-run GIVE program, which covers 28 police departments. Micron’s New York deal was announced in 2024 under the Biden administration’s CHIPS and Science Act.
Mamdani, who took office on January 1, did not offer a written rebuttal. He replied with a clip of a man pretending to stop a subway train and direct passengers, a video commonly used to joke about taking credit for work one did not do. By November 3, the post had about 28 million views and more than 1.2 million likes, compared with 8,100 likes for Vance’s post. New York police had said the city recorded its fewest shootings and murders in the first nine months of 2026.
Vance’s New York Boasts Overlook Local Gains and Old Deals
On November 3, Vance’s attempt to claim New York wins for the Trump administration was facing a blunt correction: several figures in his November 2 post were neither federal results nor specific to the city. Mamdani’s wordless reply, a video of a man pretending to stop a subway train, captured the central problem with Vance’s pitch—taking credit is not the same as delivering results.
Vance cited a 48% fall in murders and more than $472 billion in technology investment. An X Community Note said the murder figure came from New York’s state-run GIVE program, while the investment total combined nationwide pledges. Micron’s $250 billion figure included a $100 billion New York site, and Anthropic’s $50 billion was divided between Texas and New York.
The Micron project had been announced in 2024 under the Biden administration’s CHIPS and Science Act. Vance also cited immigration enforcement, wages and tax refunds, but the note questioned the framing of several claims as federal or New York-specific achievements.
Mamdani took office on January 1, and city police said New York recorded its fewest shootings and murders in the first nine months of 2026. His video response drew about 28 million views and more than 1.2 million likes by November 3; Vance’s post had 8,100 likes. The contrast sharpened scrutiny of a political message that bundled local outcomes, state efforts and nationwide investment pledges into one administration’s victory lap.
Mamdani Mocks Vance Instead of Answering New York’s Crime Claims
On November 3, Mamdani’s viral response was dominating attention after Vance laid out claims about New York’s safety and economic gains under the Trump administration. Rather than challenge the vice president’s post with a detailed public rebuttal, the mayor shared a clip of a man theatrically stopping a subway train—a joke that cast Vance as taking credit for someone else’s work.
Vance’s November 2 post cited a 48% decline in murders, an average tax refund of $3,843, $32 billion in wages protected and more than $472 billion in tech investment. An X Community Note challenged some of the framing, saying figures were not all federal results or New York-specific. It said the investment total combined nationwide pledges, including Micron projects beyond its $100 billion New York site and Anthropic investment split between Texas and New York.
The note attributed the murder decline to New York’s state-run GIVE program, which includes 28 police departments. City police have also said New York recorded its fewest shootings and murders in the first nine months of 2026. Those details complicate Vance’s claims, but they do not erase the safety figures he highlighted.
Mamdani’s post had about 28 million views and more than 1.2 million likes by November 3, far exceeding Vance’s 8,100 likes. The mayor’s viral gag made a sharper impression than a policy dispute, leaving the public exchange focused on mockery as the midterm elections approached.
Reported by Raw Story, Newsweek.
