INTERVIEW: Curtis Sliwa On NYC Loyalty & Not Backing Down In The Mayoral Race

Summary

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The Breakfast Club — Interview with Curtis Sliwa: "On NYC Loyalty & Not Backing Down In The Mayoral Race"

Podcast: The Breakfast Club (iHeartPodcasts)
Hosts: DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne Tha God, Angela Yee, Lauren LaRosa
Guest: Curtis Sliwa
Date: October 16, 2025

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Episode Overview

This spirited and unapologetic interview features Curtis Sliwa, legendary founder of the Guardian Angels and perennial New York City mayoral candidate. Sliwa discusses his vision for NYC, reflecting on his activist past, the current state of city government, his critiques of political opponents, and why he refuses to back down or cut deals. The conversation traverses Sliwa’s community work, law & order, education reform, political identity, and New York’s challenges—as well as his insistence on staying true to himself.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Guardian Angels: The Origin Story & Community Impact

• Formation and Mission (03:06 – 05:13)

  • Sliwa details the founding of the Guardian Angels in the late 1970s amidst rampant crime and decaying public infrastructure.
    • “I convinced and brainwashed my closing crew…we're going to patrol the train at night, the number four train, which was nicknamed the Muggers Express.” (04:05 – Sliwa)
  • Emphasizes the group’s multiracial background and self-help ethos:
    • “We train you to patrol your own neighborhood. It’s not like we come in like mercenaries… We believe in self-help.” (05:18 – Sliwa)

• Nonprofit Structure and Sacrifice (05:13 – 05:53)

  • Operates as a nonprofit, relying on donations: “Never asked for a nickel, dime, or penny from government or even from the public.”
  • The iconic red beret is now an homage to the six Guardian Angels killed in the line of duty.

2. Political Consistency & Critique of NYC Leadership

• Contrast with Eric Adams (06:03 – 08:38)

  • Sliwa touts his consistency and predicts Adams’ failings:
    • “I'm the Swaggerman. I called him with no plan. He was out at Nightclubs till the break of dawn.” (07:10 – Sliwa)
  • Highlights Adams’ perceived lack of backbone and policy direction, referencing Adams’ interactions with federal immigration authorities and Trump.
    • Memorable moment: Community outrage over Adams “freezing” during a confrontation:
      “He just froze. He didn’t say a damn thing…That was it for me. The moment he froze…it was over for Eric Adams.” (07:48 – Sliwa)

• On Political Entrenchment and Corruption

  • “The billionaires are not going to determine who the next mayor of New York City is. Let the people decide. I trust people. I don’t trust billionaires.” (16:34 – Sliwa)
  • Refuses multimillion dollar offers to drop out:
    “$10 million with Jeeves, stretch limo, chauffeur, no show job. Eric got the same offer…There ain’t no price.” (17:40, 17:54 – Sliwa)

3. Approach to Homelessness, Mental Health & Public Safety

• Homelessness and City Services (11:16 – 15:51)

  • Criticizes city spending on migrants over the homeless and veterans:
    • “What are we doing for homeless people and emotionally disturbed, many of them veterans, most of them African Americans. Nobody wants to talk about that, but I'm down in the streets.” (11:56 – Sliwa)
  • Advocates for restoring homeless outreach and mental health beds cut under Cuomo and de Blasio.

• Animal Welfare as Policy

  • Unique promise: strong advocacy for no-kill animal shelters and linking animal protection to broader public safety.

4. Political Identity & Voting Base

• Relationship with Trump and Political Parties (15:52 – 17:27, 41:06 – 43:37)
  • Describes a “love-hate” dynamic with Trump, noting Trump’s tendency to play all sides.
  • Pitches himself as a “different kind of Republican”:
    • “I'm a Republican, I'm a populist. I am the candidate of working class people. There is no other candidate representing working class people.” (39:56 – Sliwa)
  • Addresses skepticism about his party in deep-blue NYC:
    • “Are all the Republicans good? Of course not. Are all the Democrats good? Of course not. But if you notice, I'm a different kind of Republican…they don't have nice things to say about me because I call myself the mayor of the people.” (44:29 – Sliwa)

5. Policy on Education and Vocational Training

• Cutting Bureaucracy, Not Classrooms (21:01, 35:45 – 44:29)
  • Proposes slashing Department of Education bureaucracy to direct funds to actual classroom needs.
  • Highlights the need for vocational training:
    “There’s such a demand for carpenters, electricians, plumbers, home health care aides…we do not focus on vocational training.” (22:50 – Sliwa)
  • Insists on education reform, and candidly addresses discipline and restorative justice policies.

6. Policing, Crime, and Qualms about Polls

• Public Perception and Polling (30:36 – 31:59)
  • Argues polls are unreliable and predicts path to victory via independents, moderate Democrats, and animal lovers.
• Reputation as Entertainer or Leader (31:50 – 34:55)
  • Pushes back on skepticism about his seriousness:
    • “I've been in the communities, I've been helping communities. It's not like I was just in Talk radio for 35 years…I believe in trying to provide home ownership for the people who live in the projects.” (31:59, 33:21 – Sliwa)

7. On Congestion Pricing & Working-Class Struggles

• Against Congestion Pricing and City Taxes (45:11 – 48:19)
  • Calls congestion pricing another tax on working people:
    • “Working class people are crippled by congestion pricing. It's nothing more than another tax...they have no say in that. No zoning, no community board...the mayors will then be wine dined and pocket lined by the billionaires.” (45:28 – 48:19, Sliwa)

8. Addressing Controversies and Past Mistakes

• Guardian Angels Faked Incidents (49:18 – 49:46)
  • Admits to youthful indiscretions and faking events for PR, owning up:
    • “You fess up when you mess up. I’m more than happy to apologize for my faults.” (49:27 – Sliwa)
• Recent Accusations and Comments (50:59 – 52:28)
  • Addresses a wrongful shoplifting accusation (2024): “There was no arrest. That was dealt with…You learn from it.”
  • On “innate antisemitism” comment: “Yeah…I didn’t say it the way I should have said it…I didn’t handle it well, and I then apologized.” (51:40 – Sliwa)

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Noteworthy Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On loyalty to NYC:
  “I stay, I improve, I don’t move. I was born in New York. They tried to kill me in New York. … I wouldn’t take the payout from the billionaires to drop out.” (16:34 – 17:24, Sliwa)

• On his candidacy:
  “$10 million? … If they anted it up. Right. Is that like…Anyone Want to Be a Millionaire? No. I was never motivated by money. People who know me know that's not my motivation.” (53:26 – 53:47, Sliwa)

• On NYC priorities:
  “We talk about these programs, but if you don’t have boots on the ground, if you don’t really know these people who are affected, you’re never going to be able to come up with the plans to try to stop that.” (43:16 – Sliwa)

• Memorable Closer:
  “Because I trust the people. I trust that you let the people vote, they will make the determination of who the next mayor is. I'm not dropping out. They tried to bribe me to drop out. Now they threaten to kill me and my wife. I have armed security for the first time in my life. Guess what? We got 21 days to go. Boy, this is a novel idea. Let's trust the people to make the proper decision.” (49:46 – 50:59, Sliwa)

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Key Timestamps

• [02:26] – Introduction and early banter
• [03:06 – 05:13] – Guardian Angels backstory
• [06:03 – 08:38] – Critique of Eric Adams and political predictions
• [11:16 – 15:51] – Homelessness, mental health, and animal rescue platforms
• [16:32 – 18:22] – Refusing billionaire bribes, inside political deals
• [21:01 – 24:23] – Education, vocational training, and public sector jobs
• [31:50 – 34:55] – Entertainer vs. leader perceptions and public housing proposals
• [35:45 – 44:29] – Department of Education reform, charter schools, discipline
• [45:11 – 48:19] – Congestion pricing and economic hurdles for working class
• [49:18 – 49:46] – Admissions and apologies for staged rescues, past missteps
• [50:59 – 53:58] – Final thoughts on personal integrity, refusing to drop out

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Summary Verdict

Curtis Sliwa’s interview is a rousing, deeply New York blend of bravado, streetwise experience, and sharp criticism—delivered with candid self-awareness and populist zeal. He stands firm about his past, his mission, and his refusal to sell out, making his pitch to New Yorkers as the “tough, compassionate” candidate for the working class. The episode offers an honest portrait of a political maverick with nothing to lose, determined to win the city his way or not at all.

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Transcript

[Charlamagne Tha God]

This is an I heart podcast.

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[Curtis Sliwa]

It was kind of like the perfect storm in a sewer.

[Angela Yee]

That was dumb. Do not not follow my example.

[Johnny Knoxville]

Listen to Crimeless Hillbilly Heist on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Ed Helms]

Hey, it's Ed Helms, host of Snafu, my podcast about history's greatest screw ups. On our new season, we're bringing you a new Snafu Every single episode.

[Graves County Podcast Narrator]

32 lost nuclear weapons. You're like, wait, stop.

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Yeah, it's gonna be a whole lot of history, a whole lot of funny, and a whole lot of fabulous guests. Paul Scheer, Angela and Jenna, Nick Kroll, Jordan Klepper. Listen to season four of SNAFU with Ed Helms on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Graves County Podcast Narrator]

The murder of an 18 year old girl in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved for years until a local housewife, a journalist, and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[Curtis Sliwa]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

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Listen to Graves county on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Washables of As Ad]

Hold up.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Every day I wake up. Wake your ass up. The Breakfast Club.

[DJ Envy]

Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy. Just hilarious Charlamagne the guy. We are the breakfast club. Lauren LaRosa is here as well. And we got a special guest in the building running for New York City mayor. Ladies and gentlemen, Curtis Sliwa. Welcome.

[Angela Yee]

Good morning.

[Curtis Sliwa]

My pleasure.

[DJ Envy]

How you feeling this morning?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Where's my bedfish? I ain't got no bedfish. It's a bedfish club without breakfast.

[Angela Yee]

You're not the first person to ask for it and not receive it.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Tell you I'm the only candidate ever was locked up on Rikers Island. That's one of the good things I had. Good.

[DJ Envy]

Really?

[Curtis Sliwa]

At Rikers? Oh, yeah. Pancakes.

[Angela Yee]

Oh, okay, okay, okay.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Because the inmates make the breakfast. So if they like you, you get a good breakfast. If they don't like you, I would suggest you starve.

[Angela Yee]

What was you locked up for?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Oh, first 13 years of the Guardian Angels, I was getting locked up all the time by the police. The mayor at that time, Ed Koch, was not a supporter, and they were trying to drive us out of existence. So they figured, keep locking them up and you will eventually eliminate them. But all it did was strengthen our resolve to go out there and patrol and protect people, which is what we've been doing for 46 years here in 13 countries now in 130 cities. Well, let's.

[DJ Envy]

Let's break it down. Cause, you know, we're national. A lot of people might not know what the Guardian Angels were and what they did and why it was created. So break down why it was created and what you guys do for New York City. And you said around the world, all the.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Hundreds of thousands of people listening. Now you got to go to that cult movie classic, the warriors came out in 1979 to understand what I and the Guardian Angels were dealing with. Gangs everywhere, especially the Bronx. There were four gang members for every one police officer. And there were no cops at night on the subways because of major cutbacks. I was a night manager of Mickey B, Mickey D's in the Bronx. And I convinced and brainwashed my closing crew. We're going to patrol the train at night, the number four train, which was nicknamed the Muggers Express. Then eventually, after we got everything started, a lot of people started walking in off the street, coming into the McDonald's, not for Mac fry and strawberry shakes, but to actually join the Guardian Angels. And they were coming in from Brooklyn and Queens, and they were coming in from parts of Manhattan. So we grew, especially throughout the subway system.

[DJ Envy]

Y' all didn't have guns or knives or how. So how are you patrolling?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Well, no weapons, no special powers or privileges. But if we had to get down and dirty, that's what we had to do. We had no choice. These gang bangers would come at you with force. A lot of people say, why do you still wear that red beret? You know, you're 71 years old. Well, I'm always in the subway every day. I'm the only candidate to actually Campaign in the subway. But it's in honor. Of the six guardian angels who died in the line of duty, 32 were seriously injured to pay tribute to their sacrifice. Because we've never asked for a nickel, dime, or penny from government or even from the public.

[Angela Yee]

I thought y' all were a nonprofit though, right?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Yes, nonprofit. Obviously, you got to raise money to pay for the basics, but you're not talking about multimillions of dollars. And it's all based on organic principles. You have a problem in your neighborhood, we come in. We. We train you to patrol your own neighborhood. It's not like we come in like mercenaries or Hessians. We. We believe in self help. We think more communities have got to be reliant on themselves because government dollar short and a day late. I don't care if it's a Democrat or Republican. They come in, they promise everything. Like, you see this election cycle. And you know, at the end of it, depending on who gets elected mayor, you're not going to get anywhere near what all the promises are right before the final vote is cast on November 4th.

[Angela Yee]

Why doesn't that apply to you, though? Like, because some people would say the same thing. Like, oh, you know, you might be out here blowing smoke up everybody's ass as well.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Okay, But I've been consistent.

[Angela Yee]

She's smoking people.

[Curtis Sliwa]

See, for Curtis is consistent. All 46 years that I've led the Guardian Angels. When I ran against Eric Adams In 2021, did I not tell you there would be chaos and corruption with Eric Adams, who I knew over 40 years? And look, one and done. Imagine a sitting mayor, an incumbent mayor, who isn't able to run for reelection. And that's why you have Zorhan Mandami. A year ago, not even his neighbors knew who Zoran Mandami was.

[Angela Yee]

Through February, he was polling at 1%.

[Curtis Sliwa]

That's it. Yeah. And then, remember, two months out, he was 40% down to Andrew Cuomo, who would make a perfect zombie. You know, with Halloween coming up, nobody likes this guy. This guy fled Albany because he feared impeachment to go out to the Hamptons with his billionaire friends. But I will tell you this. If Eric had done a halfway decent job, it would have been round two. Eric Adams, incumbent Democrat, versus Republican, Kurdish. And then the voters would have determined who the next mayor is.

[Angela Yee]

Now, what do you think you went wrong?

[DJ Envy]

I was gonna say, you said you seen it coming. So what did you see?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Right out the box. I'm the Swaggerman. I called him with no plan. He was out at Nightclubs till the break of dawn. Consofrito up in The Bronx, it's 4 o' clock in the morning. I knew some of the staff people, some of the women who have to get home to get their kids up to send them to school because they're single parents and running the household. Mr. Mayor, you know, we got to close up. It's 4:00. Because you know how a club is. It's like a casino. They don't want you to look out. Out the window. And he was. He was always very respectful. But this guy would go from nightclub to nightclub, and he loved that tag. Swaggerman. That's why I call him Swaggerman with no plan. And now what plan does he have? And notice he was embraced by Trump. And then he sat on that couch at Fox and Friends, and Tom Holman said, and when I come back down, it's like right out of Cool Hand Luke, you know, with Paul Newman and that sheriff. When I come back down, Eric, if I see the NYPD is not working with ice, I'm going to put a boot up your butt. And he just froze. He didn't say a damn thing. You know how many. Yeah. How many African Americans show me that video. I have a headquarters in Brownsville on Osborne and Hegemon, where I grew up from 74 to 76. And they showed me that the other day at our grand opening. And they were like, that was it for me. The moment he froze and he didn't say anything to Tom Holman defending himself. What an outrageous thing to say. It was over for Eric Adams. Over.

[Angela Yee]

I want to go back to the Guardian Angels thing. Did they ever look at y' all as vigilantes?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Oh, first, yeah, because they didn't know who we were and what we would do. Mostly black, Hispanic, white and Asians. They just assumed we were another gang. In fact, when we first began to patrol the trains, you know, a lot of the folks out there would be screaming from one end of the car to the other end. Warriors come out and play. Assuming that we were, like, cast characters from the warriors movement, and we had to just take subway line by subway line back by having a constant presence. There was a time we would. The only ones out there at night. There were no transit police because of the cutbacks. And then finally, people began to recognize us. First with David Dinkins and then with Rudy Giuliani, and we haven't had any problems since.

[Angela Yee]

Were y' all ever influenced by the Black Panther Party?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Oh, I was influenced by the Black Panther Party by the Young Lords, by the Brown Berets. As you can see, I'm wearing a beret. I studied radical politics coming out of high school. In fact, that's how I ended up marrying my first wife. I was parting Canarsie High School before they finally said goodbye. There you go. Excuse me.

[DJ Envy]

Lisa Evers.

[Curtis Sliwa]

No, everyone thinks Lisa was my first wife. My first wife was Coryn Drayton from Brownsville. That's where I was living. She was from St. Croix, the Virgin Islands. Her and her brother Alfred were in this club at Canarsie High School called Angela Davis, George Jackson and the Solid Soledad Brothers. So I was like immersed in that politics because, remember, we're talking early 70s. And so I was able to sample it all. And I liked the paramilitary look and I liked some of the programs involved, especially the breakfast programs and other things that they were doing in the community. And I saw that for myself because I was in all these neighborhoods. I was up in Crown Heights, I was in Brownsville, I was in Bed Stuy, I was in East New York. I lived on Cleveland and New Lots and then eventually Canarsie. So I basically fulfilled the trifecta, the trinity, the troika. Brownsville, East New York, Canarsie boy. And you get a total feel of what the outer boroughs are like. Neglected. Never paid attention to the politicians. Talk about the outer boroughs, but they don't really do anything for the outer boroughs. And that's why I'm the mayor.

[Angela Yee]

Yeah, I think those are the. You know, when I think about the Guardian Angels, the Black Panther Party, you know, I think that, you know, the community work is the thing that doesn't get discussed enough from, from, from both groups. Like you said, you know, y' all taught self defense classes. You know, I think I used to do things with the homeless too. Right?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Yeah. Well, we have junior guardian Angels also in Washington Heights. These are a lot of young boys and young girls could easily form into harm's way with all the influences of gang bangers. And we not only have them go out and take care of the homeless and the emotionally disturbed in the subways, the streets and the parks, but our senior Guardian Angels, too. Nobody's caring about these folks. Hey, look, Eric Adams gave $7 billion to migrants, people we didn't even know. Put them up in three star hotels. The old Milford Plaza. Remember the commercials? They do the Milford Plaza, $400 a night. Then we give them a bagel and a schmear in the morning and they say, no, we want culturally appropriate food. What do you want con arros habituelo with a chuletta on top? No problem. Grubhub it. What are we doing for homeless people and emotionally disturbed, many of them veterans, most of them African Americans. Nobody wants to talk about that, but I'm down in the streets and the subways, in the parks every day. I know a lot of these men and women on a first name basis. These shelters are dangerous. It's Darwinian. It's survival of the fittest. They have mica shelters that I've been in for the mentally ill and the chemically addicted. And I got to tell you, nobody is safe in those shelters. So if I were homeless and I were destitute, I wouldn't stay in a shelter. There are no rules and regulations. And there used to be a homeless outreach unit with the nypd. These were men and women dedicated to helping the homeless and emotionally disturbed. They knew the directors of the homeless shelters. They knew the security. They knew people in the neighborhood. Then Bill de Blasio took a billion dollars out of the budget and eliminated that homeless outreach area January 1, 2026. I put that unit into place because they had medical nurses with them. You know, we talk about we got to have health care workers with the police when they show up for a domestic situation or dealing with an emotionally disturbed person. I agree, but we already had it. We disbanded it. De Blasio never did it. Adams never did it. Cuomo, I mean, he. When he came into office as Governor, there were 40,000 beds for the mentally ill in state hospitals. He cut the budget to the point. By the time he fled in fear of impeachment to the Hamptons to be with his billionaire friends, there were only 4,000 beds left. So if you want to blame anybody, Andrew Cuomo, who's trying to reinvent himself, all these homeless, emotionally disturbed, our people, our Americans, our veterans, and we do nothing for them but pay lip service to them. That becomes a priority with me because I know so many of them. So many of them have incredible stories. Remember that woman, Debrina Kuom, who was set on fire like a human torch December 22nd on that subway platform of Coney Island, Stilwell Avenue in the F train by that migrant who then fanned the flames and then sat there like the pyromaniac he was and watched her burn. The cops running up and down looking for a fire extinguisher. And builder seed junior high school, we were taught in Canarsie. Somebody is on fire. Drop them to the ground, roll them around, try to put the flames Out. Nobody did anything. Grown men with high levels of testosterone pull their cell phones out. IPhones. They're taking video. Instead of helping her, she died. But her story is similar to the story of a lot of emotionally disturbed and homeless who live in the subways. You see that number on the outside of a car. That's their home. If anybody would take the time to actually talk with them and understand as they wallow in their feces and their urine. And my God, what humanity says. And the other thing that differentiates me from the other candidates is, and the president made fun of me and my wife. We rescue animals. Animals who would be euthanized in the shelter. Dogs and cats, other animals. I believe in no kill shelters. I believe you put animal abusers in jail because if they abuse animals, there's a very good chance they're going to abuse human beings. Study after study proves that. And I actually have an independent line called Protect Animals First Ever. So I know there are a lot of people out there. The only Republican they've ever seen in any of the neighborhoods is Abraham Lincoln on a $5 bill. They say, I'll never vote for a Republican. I know Curtis. Everybody loves Curtis. Everybody loves Raymond. But now they can cross over and vote on that independent line. If you love animals. And let's face it, everybody loves animals. Everybody. In fact, on an iPhone or a smartphone, how many pictures did you find that people have of their animals who they consider to be family members than their kids, their grandchildren, their nieces, their nephews, their husbands, their wives, their grandparents? People are always giving you a hard time. Animals just give you love.

[DJ Envy]

And what's the relationship with Donald Trump? Do you have one?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Yeah, it's been a love hate relationship going back over 30 years. At times I've agreed. At times I've disagreed. But you notice he ain't dropping dime to me. He's not talking to me first. He was talking to Eric Adams. He saved him from going to jail with gold bars. Bobby Menendez in federal prison. And then all of a sudden, he decided he couldn't win. Then he began his communication with Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo said no. Yes. No. Yeah. The guy gives me vertical. Do you like Trump? Because you're talking to Trump and then you come into New York City and you badmouth Trump. You can't. It can't be halfway. It's like he's a half stepper. And I think most people realize he's.

[Angela Yee]

Got a lot of the same donors as Trump, too.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Of course, the billionaires, let me tell you Straight up. The billionaires are not going to determine who the next mayor of New York City is. Let the people decide. I trust people. I don't trust billionaires. I don't trust the professional political class. They are not going to choose the mayor. Let the people decide if they choose or Han Mandami. I'm not running away. Like Andrew Cuomo said. Oh, if he becomes mayor, I'm going to run to Florida. I stay, I improve. I don't move. I was born in New York. They tried to kill me in New York. The Gotti's in Gambino shot me five times with hollow point bullets in June of 1992. And even when I survived, I never had armed security after that. Today I walk into your studios here, I have armed security with me, former NYPD cops. Why? Because I wouldn't take the payout from the billionaires to drop out.

[Angela Yee]

How much did they offer you? I saw you on the news a few weeks ago, say that you was like, if one more billionaire calls me and offers me money to drop out, I'm gonna record the call and put it out.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Yeah, they'll be talking to ALVIN BRAGG, the D.A. but how much did they. $10 million with Jeeves, stretch limo, chauffeur, no show job. Eric got the same offer.

[Angela Yee]

What you pulling at, like, what, 17%?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Excuse me?

[Angela Yee]

What are you pulling that right?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

15%?

[Curtis Sliwa]

About 15. 17%.

[Angela Yee]

I'd have took that 10 million.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Yeah, but let me tell you something. What's wrong with you, man? There ain't no price.

[Angela Yee]

You can take it and put it back in the community.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Got it. You know, he was playing. Eric dropped out because he got it. He was playing the Price is Right. You know, Bob Barker's old show, the Price is Right. Finally, he got his price and he was one and done. Let's face it. He was auditioning all time, like Monty hall, let's Make a Deal. Door number one, door number two, door number three. He never, never thought that he would continue being mayor, so he was trying to segue himself out. Me? No way.

[Angela Yee]

How much you think he got? He came on this show on Thursday, said he was not dropping out, and then he dropped out that Sunday.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Man, how many times, Charlemagne? How many times did he lie to you before he told you? Oh, you my number one favorite morning program. I listened to him on other morning programs. He repeated that same mantra, typical politician, and every host and hostess gets stroked. Oh, yeah, Eric Adams, the mayor said, where's favorite morning show? You know, that guy wasn't even listening to your show. He's too busy recovering from the break of dawn. You're not till 4 in the morning.

[Angela Yee]

How much do you think he got, though? How much you think he got, Curtis?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Oh, he. I know that they got up to about 10 mil, so he probably spiced it up. He probably spiced it up. Oh, he's taken care of. Trust me. He's not in jail where he belongs. He's a crook. And secondarily, he's going to have a good career afterwards. You see how he went psycho the other day at that press conference, screaming at the media. You. You responsible. You respond, hey, if you were innocent, why didn't you go to court? Why didn't you prove you're innocent? All you need was one hung juror and you would have been freed. Same thing with Andrew Cuomo. Oh, I was innocent. I was innocent. They set me up. 15,000 elderly people that died as a result of your executive order. And by the way, if you were 22 and worked for Andrew Cuomo, boy, he loved you, too. At 22, 13 sexual harassment charges. We're paying $60 million now in settlements. And he said it was all a setup. All a setup. Well, why didn't you stand there? Your own Democrats were prepared to impeach you. Why didn't you stand there and face the charges and argue your point? Instead, he fled. So Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo have a lot of the same. And then Zoran Mandami, man, this guy is so hopelessly naive. He wants to open up these supermarkets, you know, city owned. I'm going to tell him in the debate coming up on Thursday night, Zoran, what are you going to do about shoplifting? You think those shoplifters are going to say, oh, this is a Zoran Mandami supermarket. I'm not going to go in there and clean it out. And, and then bus fare. He wants bus fare free. Half the people don't even pay the bus fare to begin with. Now we're like, halfway there. So they keep arguing these things, and then they argue about international issues that a mayor has nothing at all.

[Angela Yee]

Madani doesn't, though. That's one thing. There's two things I did like about Mandani. He didn't, you know, bite on the Israel thing. He was like, I'm going to be the mayor of New York City. And the fact that he just talks about affordability, like, you can't, you can't disagree with that. New York is way too expensive. That messaging is going to always resonate with people when you disagree? Simply say, this city is not affordable.

[Curtis Sliwa]

There's no doubt. I remember a guy named Jimmy McMillan, African American, had a handlebar mustache. He coined the phrase the rent is too high to pay. And that was 2010. We're 15 years later. I have a millennial wife, Nancy. I mean, she's the best thing that ever happened to me. And she tells me with her friends, you know what we have to deal with? The beginning of the month, we were told, get your four years of college education, get your two year graduate degree, get a career, and you will live the American dream. You'll be able to get your own condo or co op, you'll be able to get your own house, your own car. She goes, if I wasn't married to you, I'd be living in an apartment, probably with three other roommates, sharing the rent that I had just left college years back in a dormitory. And the crushing student loans which my party, the Republicans, they had no empathy, no sympathy for people who believed that this was the pathway to success. We told this generation of millennials and gen zers, that's the pathway to success. That's why they're so angry. But Zoron, I call him, it's like the wizard of Zoron. Everything is going to be free. Well, I'm the bad news bear here. Everybody's a good news bear in the election. And people said, don't be a bad news bear. Trump's cutting money, the state has to cut money to the city and this budget is just over. Bloated reality is going to hit no matter who is the mayor, whether it's Curtis, Lewa, Andrew Cuomo and or Zoran Mandami, we're not going to have the money they think the taxpayers can pony up. Just not going to happen. We got to get real. I lived through that in the 70s when there were major cuts. That's why I formed the Guardian Angels. We're going to have to tighten the belt. We're going to have to get rid of the waste. Look at the Department of Education. $41 billion. That's 1/3 of the budget. You look at fourth graders, 2/3 of them cannot read, write or do math at grade level. 4th grade. How come we're not focused on vocational training? I remember Bilder C. Junior High School. The guidance counselor would come to you in 8th grade if your marks weren't too good. Curtis, did you ever think of metal shop, wood shop, culinary art? Because right now you're not cracking the books. You know, Westinghouse got a Great program. Downtown East New York High School. You know, there's transit tech. We do not focus on vocational training. There's such a demand for carpenters, electricians, plumbers, home health care aides. Now, I know you folks, you're not at the level that I am, but we have a growing population, an aging population. I don't want them having to go to long term home care units. Especially if Andrew Cuomo has anything to do with those elderly people. They'll be dead on arrival. God damn. And most importantly, people want to stay in their homes, but they need professional home health care aides. My mother had one, Francesca, and she would begin to hallucinate. You know, you develop dementia and Alzheimer's, nobody notice, nobody wants to talk about those subjects. It's a growing problem and we have so many young men and women who maybe academically can't cut it, but if we had more vocational training. There are people listening to you all over the country who have a trade, who have a career. I had Supreme Cuisine cousins who would have had a trade making license plates. Upstate New York would have been doing a few years because they were on the wrong side of the tracks and they went to vocational high school, straightened them out and they were able to provide for themselves.

[DJ Envy]

We talk about Lincoln Tech, H vac, automotive, nursing, whatever it may be.

[Angela Yee]

The future millionaires and high earners in the future are going to be those. Like they have a. They're already saying there's going to be a shortage of skilled laborers in the future.

[Curtis Sliwa]

It already is. And by the way, you know these raids at the Home Depot yards by ice or the back of restaurants or hospitality. I have three sons, one of whom you may know. A year ago, my oldest son, Anthony.

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[Ed Helms]

Hey, it's Ed Helms. And welcome back to snafu, my podcast about history's greatest screw ups. On our new season, we're bringing you a new snafu Every single episode.

[Graves County Podcast Narrator]

32 lost nuclear weapons you're like, wait, stop.

[Washables of As Ad]

What?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Yeah, Ernie Shackleton sounds like a solid.

[Ed Helms]

70S basketball player who still wore knee pads. Yes, it's going to be a whole lot of history, a whole lot of funny, and a whole lot of guests. The great Paul Scheer made me feel good.

[Curtis Sliwa]

I'm like, oh wow.

[Ed Helms]

Angela and Jenna, I am so psyched you're here.

[Graves County Podcast Narrator]

What was that like for you to soft launch into the Sorry Jenna, I'll.

[Ed Helms]

Be asking the questions today.

[Graves County Podcast Narrator]

I forgot whose podcast we were doing.

[Ed Helms]

Nick Kroll. I hope this story is good enough to get you to toss that sandwich. So let's, let's, let's see how it goes. Listen to season four of SNAFU with Ed Helms on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Curtis Sliwa]

All I know is what I've been.

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Told and that to Half Truth is a whole lie.

[Graves County Podcast Narrator]

For almost a decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[Curtis Sliwa]

I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her.

[Graves County Podcast Narrator]

We know a story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran.

[Graves County Podcast Narrator]

My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer, and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.

[Angela Yee]

I did not know her and I.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Did not kill her or rape or burn or any of that other stuff that y' all said.

[Smart Water Alkaline Ad]

They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I poured gas on her.

[Graves County Podcast Narrator]

From Lava for Good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.

[Curtis Sliwa]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

[Graves County Podcast Narrator]

Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Viciously beaten in a gang attack. His stepfather is former governor David Patterson, who, as you know, is blind, who jumped in, snatched him out. He could have easily have been impaired, easily have been killed. That's the kind of wild, crazy crime we, they call it, you know, crime that all of a sudden happens out of nowhere. No, no, no, no. There's always a plan of crime. Somebody is always targeting somebody. But my son, my oldest son and my two other sons, they're not going to work these jobs. These have become essential workers. As long as they're not drug dealers and gang bangers and narco terrorists and sex traffickers bringing women in here to sell their bodies. Those are the people that should go to jail and they should be tried here, due time here. And then you deport them back to their country of origin. Everyone is entitled to due process. But the people who are working, trying to raise their families and living the American dream, we need to leave them alone. Because who is going to do the jobs that Americans will no longer do in the fields, picking the crops, packing the crops, in the slaughterhouses? Everybody thinks that it's back in the 30s or 40s. No, no, no, no. Times have changed significantly because the new generation, most of them are not going to do those jobs.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So question for you, with all of these things that you just said that are sound great, why do you think it's not hitting the people where it's like, effective, where they want you to be their mayor? Like, why are you not polling well?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Well, polling. Right, polling. Look, two months before the Democratic primary, when Zoran Mandami, who nobody knew, beat Andrew Cuomo by 13 points, he was down by 40. Everybody knows Governor Pataky, he beat the better Cuomo. There's no doubt in my mind Mario Cuomo was 10 times better than Andrew Cuomo. I knew Mario Cuomo. Andrew is no Mario Cuomo. November 2nd, two days before November 4th. There was no early voting then. The polls said that George Pataky was behind by 14 points. 14 points. Two days before, only one day of voting, he won by 3 percentage points. You cannot depend on these polls. Look at Harris, Trump, they said it was neck and neck. Trump ends up winning the popular vote in the seven battleground states. You cannot trust these polls. I know my pathway to victory. I have Republicans, independents, two and a half times the number of voters of Republicans because that's the growing number of registered voters. I win the independents, I'll get some moderate Democrats, and I'll get the animal lovers, and that'll be my pathway to victory.

[Angela Yee]

You know, a lot of New Yorkers think you're more entertainer than leader. So how do you let them know no, you really wanted to be a leader?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Well, Charlemagne, the God, you're in radio. Dj, you're in radio, right? You're an entertainer. That's what you get paid to do. If all of a sudden you decided you wanted to transition and run for political office, you would have to take a much more serious bent on dealing with issues. But you see, I've done both simultaneously. I've been in the communities, I've been helping communities. It's not like I was just in Talk radio for 35 years. In fact, I'm probably the oldest one in all of talk radio in New York City who has survived in, which is a very, very difficult business there. You have to entertain, you have to inform. But when you're running for office, you have to be knowledgeable. I don't think even my opponents, Zohan Mandami and Andrew Cuomo, would quibble with the fact that Curtis Lewitt knows more about New York City. All 350 neighborhoods, they only go to the neighborhoods they received in all 472 subway stations platforms. They haven't been in there. They don't even campaign there. The public housing projects, which are falling apart as we speak, I believe in trying to provide home ownership for the people who live in the projects. This was an idea that resonated many years ago by somebody named Jack Kemp, who was part of the Reagan administration. Republican, great football quarterback, great congressman. And he wanted people to be able to own their own apartment like you own a co op or condo. And you know who shot him down? My fellow Republicans. And he was a Republican. That's something worth fighting for. Everybody has a right to a piece of the American dream. And I've been in one third of the projects throughout the city of New York, 18 alone in Brownsville, where I live, for a brief time. People have no idea the struggles that go on in public housing, how they're falling apart before us. And Trump has already said, I'm cutting the NYCHA budget. They've already given us a precursor or warning. And you got to have somebody who knows the city and is going to be able to go in and cushion people and prepare for the reality of what's coming. Nobody knows that better than Curtis Liga. And for all the millennials and gen zers out there who have decided to go to school here, go to college here, university here, we give them an income tax holiday, no income tax for five years because they're going to need the money to be able to afford the high cost of living here. Because they're being recruited away. They're being recruited to other states. Our cops are being recruited away. Other civil servants are being recruited away. And remember this about the cops. They no longer have insurance. That means they're very tepid in terms of getting involved. Why should the police be the only civil servants of 320,000 who had the insurance stripped from them? That means they can be personally sued. You're never going to be able to recruit enough cops if you're not protected like a sanitation man is, like a firefighter is, like a judge, a dea, the mayor. In fact, if necessary, when I get elected mayor, I will say, guess what? All they call it qualified immunity. All of our insurance gets stripped. Elected officials. If the cops don't have the people's insurance, we shouldn't have the people insurance either. Because a mayor can make so many mistakes. A lot of people can get hurt by his mistakes or her mistakes. A lot of people might end up dying because his or her mistakes. And yet, as in the case of Governor Cuomo, $60 million in handouts to the sexual harassment victims in his administration. One estate trooper, he was protected by the People's Insurance, Qualified immunity. He can't have this double standard.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What things get hurt by you making some of the things that you just talked about happen. Because I know when you talk about the tax cuts, there was the $10 billion from the education or the schools that was going to be taken away in order to make the tax cuts happen. How does that money affect the schools in a negative Way to achieve what you're trying to get to in a pot on a positive side, or does it?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Right Right behind city hall, you have tweet courthouse. This is where the bureaucrats actually occupy offices. Many of them no show jobs. It's the old home of Tammany hall, the most corrupt political operation that ever existed. Perfect for the Department of education. They have 13 deputy chancellors, 50 department heads. When you talk to the principals in the elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools who have to hire the staff, they don't even know who these people are. They make 268,000 plus with benefits. You cut all that bureaucracy. The other thing you have to do is you have to promote charter schools. You have to promote other alternative schools. You can't say to parents or guardians or people who are trying to. To give their children the best quality education. It's one way. Your local school. What happens if your local public school is a failing school? What are you to do to keep sending your child there where they're exposed to gangs, they're exposed to people cursing, not respecting teachers. They have what they call restorative justice in class now. So that means if, Charlemagne, you're my teacher, and I clip you, right, I hit you with a baseball bat, you would think, okay, I get expelled, I get suspended, maybe I get arrested. No, no, no, no, no, no. Charlemagne, they sit you and me down with a moderator. Restorative justice. I know the routine. Oh, Charlamagne, I had a bad day. Cross my heart and hope to die. I promise, I promise, teacher, I'll never do it again. The moment they walk out the door, snitches get stitches and end up in ditches, you're mine, and now you got to go back into the same class. It's like the correctional department, mostly. Now. The correctional offices are women of color, right? More than 50% black and Hispanic. You go on to Rikers island, which is on Mondame, and Andrew Cuomo, you know, they just wanted to close, close, close, and they never been there. These women are getting perved on, sexually harassed, sexually assaulted. The inmates. There are no consequences. And you know what happens once they've been put aside for a few hours? They get put back into the same tier. And these women correctional officers, many of them single parents raising families, have to deal with these guys. There are no protection. Toughest job in the city is being a correctional officer. 12 hours, it's like a constant 911 call. And EMTs who have to deal with the psychologically disturbed who have to go to domestic abuses who have to help people having heart attacks, strokes. You know, they make less than people on bicycles delivering grubhub who are trying to run you down in the streets, who don't pay attention to any of the laws of the road. I mean, sometimes it's like the Indianapolis 500. The Grubhub delivery guys with the app make more money than an emt.

[Angela Yee]

Is that accurate?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Absolutely. They put their life on the line.

[Angela Yee]

I want to ask you about the students. So, you know, yeah, I definitely think there should be consequences, actions, especially if a student was to hit a teacher.

[Curtis Sliwa]

With a baseball bat.

[Angela Yee]

But they are still children at the end of the day. Like, what is the, you know, path to redemption for a child?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Like, look, there are a lot of reasons why a child may be acting up. There are alternative schools for the children. You have specially skilled teachers and many of them that can deal with their needs. It can't function in a normal academic atmosphere because when they're acting up and they're causing problems to other children or the teachers, it disrupts the whole classroom. The teacher is afraid. I can't tell you how many times I've walked into a classroom. There's like 12 kids sitting there. You know, half of them are asleep. Others are just doing other things. You know, they're not paying attention to the teacher. The teacher just figures. Let me get through this 45 minute period and clock out for the day. I remember teachers who couldn't wait to get into a classroom to fill you full of knowledge, to share with you everything that they learned in their lifetime. We got to get back to the basics. We have to treat our children as the greatest natural resource. We do. I go into a lot of poor neighborhoods where I spend a lot of time. I've had a lot of guardian angels who came from dysfunctional, dysfunctional families where they start crying and you know what broke their back on teachers parent night, which every public school has.

[DJ Envy]

Every school has.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Nobody showed up for them. Not a mother, not a father, not a grandparent, not an older brother, not an older sister. Nobody showed up for them. And in talking to them, he said, man, I felt like I was worthless. I felt like nobody loved me. I felt like, hey, I might as well go and hang with a gang and hang with my alternative family. That's why I created the guardian angels. It became their alternative family to keep them out of harm's way. And thousands of them have gone on to have great careers as police officers, social workers, correctional officers. That's how I can keep My fingers on the pulse of this city by all the alumni of the Guardian Angels who keep me updated to what's really happening. Not what the politicians say because basically they do the rope a dope to politicians, but really what goes on with working class people. So if people need to know who I am, I am a Republican, I'm a populist. I am the candidate of working class people. There is no other candidate representing working class people.

[Angela Yee]

I wonder, does it even benefit you to call yourself a Republican? Because at this current time, at least on a federal level, not even this on the federal level, this is a period. Republicans are not the party of the working class.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Well, I disagree. How I disagree. Because if you go throughout the country, you've seen a tremendous turnaround. The Republican Party, if you're cutting all.

[Angela Yee]

Of the programs that benefit the least of us in this country, right? And you know you've responsible for more jobs being lost this year on a federal level than any than the Democrats. Just that's just a fact. Between Doge and what's happening now with the government shutdown, they're clearly not the party of the world.

[Curtis Sliwa]

May you admit that both parties keep spending money they don't have, printing money. 37 trillion in debt. We are facing a catastrophe. When you're a populist Republican, you're saying, hey, we got to live within our means. Now I don't agree with all the cuts coming from the Trump administration. Medicaid cuts have been devastating to us in the city. The food stamps, everybody gets hurt. The farmers get hurt, the packers get hurt, the bodega owner, the supermarket owners get hurt. The people who need food, and by the way, the horrible food in some of the inner city neighborhoods. I call it the ICU belt, I call it the 3Ks. Forget the KKK, it's Kentucky Fried Chicken, it's Kansas chicken, it's Kennedy Chicken. That's a guaranteed trip to an ER and ICU belt. And then you try to look for good food sources, they don't exist. Now Adams talked a lot about that cuz he benefited from that. I do know personally he was in dire circumstances medically, but it never translated to helping people in those neighborhoods have the kind of food choice. Call it Trader Jose, I don't care. But you got Trader Joel's, you got Whole Foods, where people have some money, they have choices. Go to the inner city where I spend most of my time. The choices are meager if almost non existent. And these people are ending up going into the hospital at younger and younger ages. And that costs us a lot of money. That's unnecessary. And plus the suffering, that's unnecessary. So we talk about these programs, but if you don't have boots on the ground, if you don't really know these people who are affected, you're never going to be able to come up with the plans to try to stop that. And that's where savings can be. If people are healthier. Less trips to the ER, less trips to the ICU and less aggravation for the EMTs who don't are not treated with value by this city, should have pay parity with fire in the police. And they're in constant 911 calls. You know, with the sirens and the whistles going. Imagine the depression you would be in if you were an EMT worker.

[Angela Yee]

And you know, your rhetoric is. I agree with a lot of your rhetoric. It just doesn't reflect where the current Republican Party is. That's why I said, does it even benefit you to say I'm Republican?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Curtis Charlamagne People get nervous when they hear a budget cut to any anything education from a Republican candidate. And that's why I asked you the question earlier.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Well, you won't hear about any budget cuts from the Democrats, and that is a reality. So you got to cut the fat, you got to cut bureaucracy. You got to cut the corruption. And there's a lot of corruption there. And it's not just Democrats, not in.

[Angela Yee]

The Department of Education. Especially if you said that, you know, a lot of these kids aren't getting the education that they deserve. We should put more investment into education.

[Curtis Sliwa]

But where's the money going to come from? It's already $118 billion budget. The state has said they got to cut 36 billion. They're over budgeted and the federal government keeps cutting. We got to tighten our belts. I want the money to go in the classroom. Do you realize with a $41 billion budget, teachers are still reaching into their pocket and buying supplies?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Where's all that money going to?

[Angela Yee]

I agree. I think that's disgusting.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Where's that money going?

[Angela Yee]

So you don't want to cut the budget of the Department of Education?

[Curtis Sliwa]

Well, no, just the bureaucracy. Just the people who get paid incredible amounts of money and nobody in the schools knows who they are and what they do. It's called patronage. You get a job like this because you took good care of candidates who ended up getting elected to position that patronage has to end. Now, are all the Republicans good? Of course not. Are all the Democrats good? Of course not. But if you notice, I'm a different kind of Republican than the other Republicans. A lot of Republicans don't have nice things to say about me because I call myself the mayor of the people. I got the boots on the ground. I'm in the subways, I'm on the buses. I'm on the express buses. These other candidates, they have no idea what's going on out there.

[DJ Envy]

I do have to ask. I have to go. These guys don't. I do have one question before I do. Congestion. Totally right. New Yorker said they hated it. They said it cost too much money. They said it's already hard. We just talked about all the money that people can't afford. But now, if they come to the city for anything, if they come in for work, and if they're driving in the city, they're getting charged and taxed.

[Curtis Sliwa]

A whole lot more. What is your thoughts on that? That's right. They clip you $9, and, you know, 9 times 2 is 18, and suddenly it'll be 36. It never goes down. Working class people are crippled by congestion pricing. It's nothing more than another tax. And it was supposed to offset the billion dollars that we lose in fair evasion. And look at all the storefronts that are closed now. Go south of 60th street across from City hall, there are nine small storefronts. And when you talk to the merchants, the men and women who've been there for years, Curtis, I had to give up my lease. I couldn't pay my rent anymore. I don't have enough foot traffic coming in and out to be able to sustain ourselves. So, you know, if you love bicycles, you love going around on bicycles, you don't want to see people in cars. Maybe this is your vendetta against folks, but working class people, especially if you're a tradesman or tradeswoman or you have a skill level, or you got to get to a hospital, or you're serving our community as a police officer or a firefighter in uniformed services. Why should you be taxed? All that is is another tax. In New York City, you get taxed from the cradle to the grave. And then they got these speed cameras, speed cameras all over the place. Boom, $150. Boom, $150. Put speed bumps. That'll slow you down. And if you decide that you're going to be like Mario Andretti and the Indianapolis 500, you're going to end up in a fender bender shop. Your undercarriage, your ball bearings, your alignment will be shot. Speed bumps will slow you down. Speed cameras don't slow you down. All they do is pick your pockets. That's what the city is about, picking your pockets. Taxing you from the cradle to the grave. And we have to stop because working class people are fleeing the billionaires. Look, they always have an out. They always have a place somewhere else. They move their businesses, they'll be fine. The working class people, everything they got is in their co op, their condo, their house. First generation immigrants. The family pools all of its money to get a house. The American dream. Where I was in Brownsville, all these West Indian Caribbeans pool their money to get a house. And then they also now have the city of yes, which will allow a developer to come in with a bulldozer and a wrecking ball. There goes your house. We're going to put up a 40 story apartment building. You have no say in that. No zoning, no community board. You don't have to go to the city council person because the mayors will then be wine dined and pocket line by the billionaires. That's why I say this election cycle will not be determined by the billionaires. Because what do they want? What motivates a billionaire? You think they give you money because you really believe in what you're doing. It's how to make more money. And I was born in this world with nothing. I'll leave from this world with nothing. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. They are self serving servants, many of these elected officials, Republicans and Democrats. I was raised by my father and mother and my grandparents to be a selfless servant. That's what you have to do to help the people.

[Angela Yee]

I just got a couple more questions. Envy, got to go. I don't know why he's walking out on this question, because it's about his community. But why didn't you attend the Latino Business forum?

[Curtis Sliwa]

First off, the Latino Business Forum, I knew the guy was hosting it. He didn't invite any of us. He didn't invite Andrew Cuomo, he didn't invite Zohan Mandame, he didn't invite me. I've been to many Latino and Latina. I think what the guy was trying to do is get attention. He knows I've been there through thick and thin and I'm not going to diss Zorhan and Andrew Cuomo because I happen to think that they too were not invited or they would have shown up. There's no reason to diss the Latino and Latina community, especially to me, leader of the guardian angels. So many of the guardian angels over the years have been Latino and Latinas. I mean, Dominicans and Puerto Ricans and Mexicans. I mean, that's. Without them, I wouldn't have been able to start the Guardian Angels.

[Angela Yee]

Now, a couple more things. In 1992, they said that you confessed that you and the Guardian Angels faked several heroic acts for media attention in their early days.

[Curtis Sliwa]

That was like. That was 45 years ago.

[Angela Yee]

Did you file a false report that you were kidnapped by off duty transit police officers and you staged rescues and thwarted muggings on the subway? That.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Yep. All of that. True. You know, you fess up when you mess up. I mean, I'm more than happy to apologize for my faults. Anybody who's married out there or you have a relationship, I apologize to my wife three times a day in the morning, afternoon, and evening.

[Angela Yee]

But why did you have to do that? Because there was actual crime going on.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Oh, yeah, there was lots of. Yeah, you could call it youthful indiscretion. You know, they use that term. I just made bad choices. Luckily, I determined I'm never going to do that again, and I haven't done anything like that since. But that's 45 years ago. If I had to tell you to judge somebody by what they were doing 45 years ago. Oh, man, you talk about all the drama that probably took place. I have a track record. The situation in the city is everybody says nice things about Curtis Lewis like Everybody Loves Raymond. My job is to get them to come out and vote. And I trust the people. I trust that you let the people vote. They will make the determination of who the next mayor is. I'm not dropping out. They tried to bribe me to drop out. Now they threaten to kill me and my wife. I have armed security for the first time in my life. Guess What? We got 21 days to go. Boy, this is a novel idea. Let's trust the people to make the proper decision. And I will be more than happy to live with it, because I'm not fleeing like Andrew Cuomo said. Oh, I'm fleeing with my billionaire friends to Florida. No, I. I stay, I fight for what I know is right. I improve. I don't move. And there are a lot of other people who will do exactly that.

[Angela Yee]

Well, there's a couple more things. In 2024, they said you and some other Guardian Angels accosted a man that y' all wrongly accused of being a migrant and a shoplifter. But the man was actually from the Bronx, and police found no evidence to shoplift.

[Curtis Sliwa]

No, there was no arrest. That was dealt with. Obviously, we moved on. This is what happens when you're very active. Each and every day, situations are going to arise and you learn from it.

[Angela Yee]

Were you profiling? Did you profile them anyway?

[Curtis Sliwa]

No, it wasn't profiling. It was just at the moment. But again, nobody ended up being arrested. Everything was fine.

[Angela Yee]

And what about this political event? They said that you stated that anti Semitism was innate to gentiles, saying, it's in our DNA.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Yeah, well, when I said that, that was at a rally in Staten island to a group of Israeli reporters who were there. My wife confronted me because she had seen that go online, said, well, that's a pretty stupid thing you said. I said, yeah, I didn't say it the way I should have said it because I'm not Jewish. I have. My two youngest sons are Jewish. Their mother is Melinda Katz, who is the Democratic district attorney in Queensland. But I didn't handle it well, and I then apologized. But when you, for instance, all of you are involved in radio every day.

[Angela Yee]

Yes, sir.

[Curtis Sliwa]

If you had to apologize for everything you said in radio, you'd have to go on an apology tour 100%. I've certainly had to do that for 35 years in talk radio. I would listen back to what I had said. I said, boy, that was pretty stupid.

[Angela Yee]

Yeah.

[Curtis Sliwa]

And you got to apologize, especially if you give wrong information. And so that. That's what I've Learned over my 71 years. When you mess up, you fess up and you move on. And hopefully nobody was injured by what you said or any deeds that are attributed to you.

[Angela Yee]

I'm looking forward to seeing the debate on Thursday.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Oh, yeah. Oh, you know me.

[Angela Yee]

And if you do drop out before the race, is it safe to assume you took the $10 million or the job?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Because they said you had a job offer from Trump, too.

[Curtis Sliwa]

There's no job offer from Trump. Even if he were to call me up and say, curtis, I'd like you to come to Washington. I'm not going to Washington. I'm staying right here in New York City. 21 days to run for mayor. Charlemagne, you can put money on the fact that I'm not going to drop out. Why don't you set up a little waging board? You know, everybody loves to bet nowadays. Maybe they can do fanduel. Curtis, Lewa is not dropping out. They've tried to bribe me. They threatened to kill me and my wife. Why do you think all of a sudden I drop out now?

[Angela Yee]

$10 million.

[Curtis Sliwa]

$10 million?

[Angela Yee]

No, 15 up the anti a little bit.

[Curtis Sliwa]

If they anted it up. Right. Is that. That like that? Remember that Academy Award winning movie, Anyone Want to Be a Millionaire? No. I was never motivated by money. People who know me know that's not my motivation. And so they tried a million for.

[Angela Yee]

Every point you're polling at.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Nope. Just ain't gonna happen. Charlemagne.

[Angela Yee]

Okay.

[Curtis Sliwa]

You know, we could. We could be playing five card draw poker here, you know. I ain't folding. I ain't folding.

[Angela Yee]

Do you like your chances?

[Curtis Sliwa]

I love my chances because I treat the people like a mosh pit. I dive into a group, whether you're friends or foes, people always asking questions. Johan used to do that. Now he's very guarded in terms of just going into places where he knows he's going to get a lot of grief. And Andrew Cuomo, he does not like people. He has like a phobia. But I kind of understand. People look at him and they see the Grim Reaper. They say, man, I don't want that guy as mayor. There's a cold hearted dude. Come on. We need a mayor who's not tough. I love Zorhan. I'm gonna be tough with Trump. Andrew Cuomo. I'm gonna be tough with Trump. Look, I'm the toughest guy of all. What we need is a man who's compassionate, caring and considerate. We have people with serious problems in our city. Stop trying to be the tough guy. Real tough guys don't have to tell you they're a tough guy. Take it from me, a real New Yorker, a real tough guy who's earned it the hard way.

[Angela Yee]

Tell them where to donate to your campaign.

[Curtis Sliwa]

Go to sliwa4nyc.com that's sliwa4nyc.Com and you can see all of the programs. What I would do for the first hundred days when I'm sworn into office January 1, 2026. And I know everybody here in this Breakfast Club studio is going to be saying, damn. He told us he was going to win and he won.

[Angela Yee]

Wow.

[Curtis Sliwa]

You should have believed him.

[Angela Yee]

It was Curtis Lewis. It's the Breakfast Club. Thank you for joining us, brother.

[Curtis Sliwa]

My pleasure. Every day I wake up. Wake your ass up. The Breakfast Club.

[Johnny Knoxville]

Johnny Knoxville here. Check out Crimeless Hillbilly Heist, my new true crime podcast from Smartless Media, Campside Media and big money players. It's the true story of the almost perfect crime and the nimrods who almost pulled it off.

[Curtis Sliwa]

It was kind of like the perfect storm in a sewer. That was dumb.

[Angela Yee]

Do not follow my example.

[Johnny Knoxville]

Listen to Crimeless Hillbilly Heist on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ed Helms]

Hey, it's Ed Helms, host of Snafu, my podcast about history's greatest screw ups. On our new season, we're bringing you a new snafu. Every single episode.

[Graves County Podcast Narrator]

32 lost nuclear weapons. You're like, wait, stop What?

[Ed Helms]

It's going to be a whole lot of history, a whole lot of funny, and a whole lot of fabulous guests. Paul Scheer, Angela and Jenna, Nick Kroll, Jordan Klepper. Listen to season four of SNAFU with Ed Helms on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Graves County Podcast Narrator]

The murder of an 18 year old girl in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved for years until a local housewife, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[Curtis Sliwa]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

[Graves County Podcast Narrator]

Listen to Graves county on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Smart Water Alkaline Ad]

Short on time, but big on true crime. On a recent episode of the podcast Hunting for Answers, I highlighted the story of 19 year old Lashay Dungy. But she never knocked on that door. She never made it inside, and that text message would be the last time anyone would ever hear from her. Listen to Hunting for Answers from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast.