New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani struggled to lift a 135-pound barbell during an event in the city.
Mamdani, 33, shocked the political world when he defeated Andrew Cuomo to win the Democrat nomination to run the Big Apple, campaigning on far left policy and drawing controversy for his anti-Israel views.
On Saturday, the mayoral candidate was spotted attending the annual Men’s Day open streets event in Brooklyn.
Video shared on social media showed Mamdani was unable to lift a 135-pound barbell without assistance.
Dressed in an white collared long sleeve shirt, black slacks and dress shoes, Mamdani was cheered on by the crowd as he lay on the weightlifting bench.
‘This is how you move up in the polls,’ one onlooker shouted, encouraging the 33-year-old to lift the weight.
However, as he went to bench press the weight, Mamdani’s spotter never let go of the bar.
After two repetitions, the mayoral frontrunner stopped, got off the bench, thanked his spotter and left.
The footage sparked ridicule online, including from his political rival, Mayor Eric Adams.
’64 vs. 33. A lifetime of hard work vs. a silver spoon. The results speak for themselves,’ Adams said.
‘The weight of the job is too heavy for “Mamscrawny.” The only thing he can lift is your taxes.’
‘Zohran out here preaching revolution but can’t even bench 95lbs; bro’s strongest lift is raising your taxes,’ another person said.
A third person added, ‘The lefts, in the case communist, attempt to come off masculine is so outrageous. Has the opposite effect but they genuinely don’t seem to know or care. Shameless and hilarious at the same time. Hard combo to pull off. Hope they keep it up.’
Others came to his defense, emphasizing that running for office has nothing to do with a person’s capabilities in the gym.
‘Public service should be about policy and integrity, not proving strength in a gym setting,’ one person said.
‘Bench press ain’t everything, homie. Mamdani’s still got mad game,’ said a second.
Mamdani has campaigned on a series of woke policies that would drastically reshape the City that Never Sleeps.
He has said he wants to raise taxes on millionaires and corporations by $9 billion to subsidize his plans for fare-free buses, free child care and housing.
Mamdani, who is currently serving in the New York State Legislature, also wants to spend $65 million on transgender care and has pushed populist ideas including grocery stores that would be owned by the city.
Additionally, the controversial figure has advocated for defunding the city’s police department – but vowed to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to set foot in the Big Apple.
His main opponents in the general will be former governor Andrew Cuomo and current mayor Eric Adams, both of whom are running as independents. Former US Attorney Jim Walden and Curtis Sliwa, the perennial Republican option, are also in the race.
Mamdani recently received some backlash for his extravagant wedding at his wealthy parents million-dollar compound in Uganda.
While he was in Uganda, his horrific anti-NYPD tweet reemerged in the wake of the Midtown mass shooting where four people were killed, including NYPD officer Didarul Islam, 36.