New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani once again came under fire, this time from comedian and podcaster Michael Rapaport, who took aim at him for eating at one of Manhattan’s priciest sushi restaurants, questioning the socialist’s “working class” image.Rapaport posted a photo of Mamdani dining at Omen Azen on Wednesday. The restaurant features items such as a $27 kampai caviar appetizer and a 12-piece sashimi combo for $50, according to the New York Post.During a debate last week, Mamdani said he spends $125-$150 per week on groceries. Omen Azen’s nine-course seasonal tasting menu costs $145, featuring filet mignon, burdock soup, and sashimi. “How’s a ‘working class’ mayoral candidate like Zohran Mamdani eating at OMEN SUSHI — one of the most expensive spots in NYC?” Rapaport asked on X.He added, “The rent-stabilized ‘man of the people’ from Queens is out here dining like a diplomat on a Qatari stipend. Who’s picking up the check, Zoron the Moron? You’re not working class — you’re fraud class.”Mamdani is a state assembly member from Queens. The frontrunner was born in Uganda and has campaigned on affordability issues, including rent freezes, free bus fares, city-run grocery stores, taxing the rich and universal childcare. Rapaport also mocked Mamdani’s transport choices, posting on Instagram, “Also do you think he took the train, bus, or an UBER back to his rent stabilized apartment in Queens?” He added that he would support Mamdani’s election rival, former governor Andrew Cuomo, who called Mamdani a “child of wealth.”“He grew up in Uganda — basically in a palace. Moved to Manhattan, grew up in a West Side penthouse, went to private school, $60,000 a year and Bowdoin College,” Cuomo said on YouTuber and influencer Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast.Rapaport discussed Mamdani’s family background as well. Mamdani’s mother, acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair, has had projects funded by Qatari state cultural institutions. Rapaport reposted a menu photo from Omen Sushi with the caption, “Fun fact: 12 pieces of sushi are $50 at Omen… Mamdani is a typical ‘money for me, not for thee’ parasitic socialist.”In response to criticism of his own comments, Rapaport wrote on X, “This offends you — but a mayoral candidate of NYC declaring there’s a genocide going on with 0.0 evidence, refusing to condemn ‘Globalize the Intifada,’ and stacking up dozens of false promises doesn’t offend you?!”
