\u201cReal Time<\/a>\u201d host Bill Maher<\/a> on Friday endorsed disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo<\/a> in New York City\u2019s mayoral race and excused his past sexual misconduct allegations, while slamming progressive opponent Zohran Mamdani<\/a> as a danger for the Democratic Party<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI think he seems like a sweet guy, Mamdani,\u201d Maher said to laughter from the crowd<\/a>. \u201cBut I would just like to say, because the election is in a couple of weeks, this is not just New York that\u2019s on the ballot. I think the whole Democratic Party in the country is on the ballot.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cAnd the whole country will be looking at this race to see which way are the Democrats<\/a> going to go,\u201d he continued. \u201cNo, Andrew Cuomo may not be that exciting and that inspirational, but for a party that said, \u2018We want to get back to normal,\u2019 he\u2019s kind of normal.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Maher\u2019s guest Kate Bedingfield, who served as the White House communications director under former President Joe Biden<\/a>, appeared surprised by that assessment. She disagreed, noting \u201csome things\u201d in Cuomo\u2019s history actually aren\u2019t normal at all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n An investigation from the Department of Justice<\/a> released in 2024 concluded the former New York governor\u2019s \u201csexually hostile work environment\u201d affected at least 13 female state employees, one of whom said Cuomo grabbed her buttocks and put his hand up her shirt.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Those mounting accusations of sexual misconduct had led Cuomo to resign in 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWell, we did a deep dive on that because we had him on the show,\u201d Maher told Bedingfield. \u201cA lot of it is kind of bullshit. I mean, maybe he was a little too handsy, a little too Italian, a little too touchy, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIf you Democrats want to keep doing this, throwing guys like that under the bus, because \u2018that\u2019s not good enough\u2019 and \u2018pure enough,\u2019 you\u2019re going to wind up with a guy who did a little more than what Andrew Cuomo did,\u201d he continued with a nebulous warning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Bedingfield argued that fellow Democrats have \u201cwrung their hands\u201d excessively over Mamdani, who has brought \u201ca lot of energy,\u201d healthy discourse and a whole new coalition to the party. She said him winning in the face of fearmongering would be \u201ca good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Maher then introduced some of that fearmongering himself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He not only rejected that Mamdani is as popular as Bedingfield suggested, despite him currently leading in the polls by double digits<\/a>, but raised the \u201cissue\u201d brought forth by Cuomo \u2014 that Mamdani has citizenship from Uganda, \u201cwhere they kill homosexuals.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Bedingfield asked, \u201cSo somebody who is a dual citizen can\u2019t be mayor of New York, or\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Left: Evan Agostini\/Invision\/Associated Press; Right: Yuki Iwamura\/Associated Press<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Maher doubled down, claiming he would renounce his citizenship from a country whose \u201cgovernment policy\u201d was to kill homosexuals. Uganda executes people who engage in same-sex acts with minors, the disabled and people over 75, per the Human Rights Watch<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Bedingfield fired back and told Maher he\u2019s \u201cbuying into a fear framework\u201d and the \u201crace baiting\u201d employed by Cuomo, who made the shockingly racist claim Thursday that Mamdani would be \u201ccheering\u201d on another 9\/11-style attack<\/a> if one occurred under his watch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/68fd190818000090a9e8f55a.jpeg?ops=crop_77_0_1440_900%2Cscalefit_720_noupscale&format=webp)
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