Michael Rapaport, an actor and podcaster, has announced that he will run for mayor of New York City in 2029. This makes him a strong opponent of newly sworn-in Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The announcement came just days after Mamdani took office on January 1, 2026, which shows how long Rapaport has been critical of the Democratic Socialist leader. Rapaport, who has lived in New York City all his life and is known for his roles in movies and TV shows, made the announcement on his “I Am Rapaport Stereo Podcast,” where he called himself “Mayor Rapaport” over and over again.
Rapaport is against Mamdani mostly because of things he has said about Israel in the past, which the actor has called “problematic” and linked to fears of anti-Semitism in the city. He called Mamdani’s ego “huge fucking” and his grin “evil fucking,” and he said that Mamdani was making New York City more dangerous. Rapaport posted on Instagram that he was “born and raised” in New York City, while Mamdani was born in Uganda. He promised to make the city “safe, affordable, and thriving” without “fake grins.”
In 2025, Zohran Mamdani, 34, son of filmmaker Mira Nair, won the Democratic primary by beating Andrew Cuomo. After the general election, he became NYC’s first Muslim and Indian-American mayor. To fight high costs, his platform focused on populist issues like free buses, rent freezes, and grocery stores run by the city. Even though he softened some of his progressive views during the campaign, critics like Rapaport still go after him for his earlier comments about Israel and the “democratic socialist” label.
Three years before the election, Rapaport, 55, is already getting people to support him. He is asking people to send in their resumes for his team and using nicknames like “The Enflamed Ashkenazi” to show that he is pro-Israel. Mamdani, on the other hand, started his term by signing executive orders to get rid of junk fees and subscriptions.
