Zohran Mamdani's alleged zinger in last week's New York mayoral debate was a claim that he had "integrity" and his chief opponent, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, did not. The people know Cuomo's glories and missteps. But many have been TikTok-ed out of recognizing Mamdani's two-faced candidacy displaying more calculation than conviction.

Start with the New York City Police Department. In June 2020, Mamdani tweeted: "We don't need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety. What we need is to #DefundTheNYPD." He tweeted, "There is no negotiating with an institution this wicked & corrupt. Defund it. Dismantle it. End the cycle of violence."

This was not the product of a high school essay. These words were five years ago. And three years ago, State Assemblyman Mamdani voted to cut 1,300 officers from a "racist" NYPD.

Now that he needs the votes of regular New Yorkers worried about crime, he's done a 180 on that unpopular stance. He said, "I'm not here to defund the police. We're just working to make the city safer and innovate."

Aw, shucks.

What many young urban professionals don't realize is that not all low-information voters are MAGA hillbillies. They include many of their own, busy go-getters who rely on their social media silos for information. If governing were as easy as going viral, Mamdani would be unstoppable.

Mamdani is on record questioning the need for jails, having called them one of white supremacy's "many faces." On the prison now housing the most dangerous criminals, he said, "Rikers Island's decades-long history of abuse, neglect and suffering has no place in New York City." Last month, his campaign announced, "As Mayor, Zohran Mamdani will work to adhere to the 2027 closure of Rikers as required by law."

But now he says that closing Rikers by 2027 is "functionally impossible." What caused that loss of fervor? Perhaps it's the resentment in Chinatown residents over plans to put one of the new Rikers replacement jails in their neighborhood. These voters have the information.

Mamdani has called for loosening criminal penalties for prostitution — which he insists is not the same as legalizing it. His party, the Democratic Socialists of America, has not been that slippery. It calls for the elimination of all misdemeanors tied to prostitution.

Mamdani's socialist sister-in-arms, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, recently rallied in defense of prostitutes congregating in working-class Corona, Queens. The largely Hispanic neighborhood has been up in arms over this open sex trade, with prostitutes propositioning kids on their way to school.

Much has been said about Mamdani's refusal to denounce "Globalize the Intifada" talk in a city with a large Jewish electorate. The candidate has said he distinguishes between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, the first being OK and the latter not OK. Then last week, as voting day approaches, he told Jews in Brooklyn that Zionists would be part of his administration.

The real zinger at the debate came from Cuomo when he said of Mamdani: "He's never had a job. On his resume, it says he interned for his mother." Cuomo warned that any day, the city could have hurricane or "God-forbid, a 9/11" requiring experienced leaders.

Related to that World Trade Center attack that cost 2,753 lives, a photograph shows a smiling Mamdani, arms around Siraj Wahhaj. Wahhaj is an imam, The New York Post reports, who "was fingered by prosecutors as an 'unindicted co-conspirator' in the 1993 WTC bombing" — a practice run for 9/11.

We are all entitled to change our positions but for a politician, total flipping from week to week is manipulative and dishonest. And it's nobody's idea of integrity.

Follow Froma Harrop on X @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators webpage at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Mike C. Valdivia at Unsplash