'Damage control': Mamdani's 'blatant flip-flop' on defunding police ripped as 'political theatre'

New York City’s socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani attempted to distance himself from his previous anti-police rhetoric on Wednesday in a move that New York elected officials and a crime expert told Fox News Digital amounted to lip service.

Mamdani has long criticized the New York Police Department (NYPD), calling for it to be defunded in 2020. He has also frequently called it "racist" and said the department’s Strategic Response Group should be disbanded. 

In another social media post, Mamdani posted "nature is healing" in response to a comment about laughing at a cop crying in his car.

However, on Wednesday, in the wake of a Midtown Manhattan shooting that left an NYPD officer dead, Mamdani said his calls to defund the police were made out of "frustration" over George Floyd’s death.

His comments left several in the community unconvinced that he had genuine...