<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/new-york-city/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">New York</a> Mayor <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/zohran-mamdani/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Zohran Mamdani</a> and former political opponent, Republican Curtis Sliwa, appeared together on Friday as they received their annual flu shots.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The two <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/2025-elections/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2025 New York mayoral candidates</a> held hands during a public health photo opportunity, approximately one year after their electoral competition. Sliwa joked with the doctor administering the flu shots about the possibility of it being “embarrassing,” to which Mamdani offered to hold Sliwa's hand.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“What happens if I faint?” Sliwa asked Mamdani.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I got you,” Mamdani <a href="https://x.com/Acyn/status/2106080855072686137?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">responded</a>.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sliwa made several jokes during the event, as both he and Mamdani encouraged New Yorkers to get vaccinated against the flu during the season.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“You know he got more votes than me, he’s more popular than me,” Sliwa <a href="https://abc7ny.com/post/nyc-mayor-mamdani-holds-hands-time-rival-curtis-sliwa-get-flu-shot-brooklyn/19901278/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a>, according to ABC7. “But you don’t have bigger muscles!”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sliwa, founder of the nonprofit crime-fighting group Guardian Angels, also referenced his past experiences with gun violence, noting he survived being shot five times in one month in 1992.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I know about getting shot,” Sliwa stated.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/4747166/mamdani-combat-antisemitism-new-york-city/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MAMDANI UNVEILS BLUEPRINT TO COMBAT ANTISEMITISM IN NEW YORK CITY</a></strong></p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Mamdani, identified as a socialist, won against both Sliwa and former Democratic Governor <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/andrew-cuomo/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Andrew Cuomo</a> to secure his position at Gracie Mansion in 2025. Mamdani received 50.8% of the vote, while Cuomo received 41.3%, and Sliwa received 7%.</p>