NEW YORK — The sprawling field of Democratic candidates running for New York City mayor this year faced off for the first time in a debate Wednesday — and front-runner Andrew Cuomo quickly became a punching bag for his opponents during the chaotic showdown.

In one of the first clashes of the night, Zohran Mamdani, who has consistently polled as the runner-up to Cuomo in the June 24 primary, declared he doesn’t “think it’s unfair” the ex-governor is being criminally investigated by President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice over allegations he lied to Congress about his handling of the COVID pandemic.

“Andrew Cuomo did lie to Congress,” Mamdani, a democratic socialist Queens Assembly member, declared. He then added that he doesn’t believe Trump’s DOJ is interested in “pursuing justice.”

Cuomo, whose debate appearance marked the first time he has stood side-by-side with his fellow 2025 mayoral candidates, punched back, denying he ever lied before Congress and portraying the DOJ probe as a political ploy by Trump. He then said Mamdani’s “very good on Twitter” but charged he has “actually produced nothing.”

“Donald Trump would go through Mr. Mamdani like a hot knife through butter, he’s been in government 27 minutes … He has no experience with Washington, no experience in New York City — he would be Trump’s delight,” Cuomo said.

In addition to Cuomo and Mamdani, Comptroller Brad Lander, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, ex-Comptroller Scott Stringer, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie and former hedge fund executive Whitney Tilson appeared on stage, as did state Sen. Jessica Ramos and former state Assemblyman Michael Blake, although they haven’t qualified for the second debate. The debate was held at the NBC studios in Midtown Manhattan and hosted by NBC, Telemundo 47 and Politico.

“Kids, it’s grown up time,” Stringer said at one point, trying to get a word in during a segment that was supposed to focus on subway safety policies but became a shouting match.

Trump a topic

Trump came up frequently during the two-hour debate, with moderators pressing the candidates on how they will stand up to the controversial commander-in-chief, particularly on immigration as he seeks to target undocumented New Yorkers for “mass deportations.”

All of the candidates were in agreement there’s a need to fight Trump’s agenda, which has caused widespread anxiety in local immigrant communities and threatened to deprive the city of as much as $10 billion in federal funding for social safety net programs.

Myrie, a Brooklyn state senator, offered one potential strategy: Have the city hire far more lawyers dedicated solely to suing the Trump administration and formulating practices for how to block his most controversial policies.

But the predominant theme of the debate was Cuomo facing attacks from the eight other candidates, who laced into him on everything from public safety and education to affordable housing production and the ex-governor’s integrity.

Mamdani said Cuomo couldn’t be trusted to regulate industries like food delivery apps when a super PAC supporting the ex-gov’s mayoral run has accepted millions of dollars in donations from those sectors, including $1 million from DoorDash.

“I don’t care who gave me what, I do what is right,” Cuomo fired back.

Later, after Cuomo didn’t own up to once saying the racially charged term “shuck and jive,” Mamdani called him “so allergic to any accountability or acknowledgement of any mistake that he can’t even acknowledge that he said these words.”

Blake, who is not a competitive candidate at this point, was among the most vocal against Cuomo.

In response to a question on subway safety, Blake instead raised the multiple accusations of sexual harassment against Cuomo that sparked his resignation in 2021.

“The people who don’t feel safe are the young women, mothers and grandmothers around Andrew Cuomo,” Blake said.

Cuomo denies the accusations, but said Wednesday he apologizes to anyone he made uncomfortable.

The Cuomo pile-on was expected. With significant name recognition in New York, Cuomo has consistently polled as the favorite to win the primary.

Speaker Adams took issue with Cuomo’s decision to not answer a question about what his biggest regrets as a public official are. “Really, no regrets?” the speaker said, shaking her head after noting that Cuomo at one point as governor cut Medicaid funding.

Mamdani faced some broadsides, too, with Tilson calling his democratic socialist policies “dangerous.”

Ramos, a progressive, also somewhat surprisingly attacked Mamdani, who has used social media to help build support. Ramos said she regrets not running for mayor in 2021, musing that she “thought I needed more experience, but turns out, you just need to make good videos.”

Cuomo focused most of his attacks against Mamdani, who has cut into the ex-gov’s lead in some recent polls. Cuomo noted Mamdani has previously supported calls to “defund” the police and once called former President Barack Obama “evil” on Twitter.

On stage, Mamdani deflected the Obama jab, but afterward, he told the Daily News that the post was “a stupid tweet of a college student.”

“And I understand Andrew Cuomo trying to spend so much time on it, because ultimately, when you’re at home and not campaigning outside in New York City, you’re likely on Twitter, that’s where we’ve seen Andrew Cuomo,” Mamdani said.

On policy, Cuomo said “there’s no way” Mamdani’s going to pass the tax increases on millionaires and corporations required to bankroll his agenda, which includes promises to enact universal child care, provide free public bus service and freeze rent for stabilized tenants. Mamdani says he’s confident he has the negotiating chops to get his agenda passed.

Cuomo also went after Lander, another progressive, accusing his wife of being corrupt, saying the comptroller approved hundreds of thousands in contracts to organizations associated with her. While Lander sought guidance and approval from the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board over his office’s review of nonprofit contracts with ties to her organization, Nonprofit New York, it did not lead to anything further.

“It’s lie and you know it,” Lander responded on stage.

“Rather than just even finding one place to say, ‘here’s something I got wrong,’ to like tell lies about somebody else’s wife — what kind of person does that?” Lander told The News after the debate. “Not somebody who ought to be the mayor in New York City.”

Mayor Eric Adams, who has chosen to skip the Democratic primary to seek reelection as an independent in November’s general contest, told The News before the debate he’s “got the crown” others are trying to compete for.

“I’m looking forward to their debate as many of them talk about the great work I’ve done,” said Adams, who dropped out of the Democratic primary amid political fallout from the Trump administration’s controversial dismissal of his federal corruption indictment.

©2025 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.