Pete Davidson, comedian and Staten Island native, questioned Mayor Zohran Mamdani's genuine connection to the borough during an interview with Variety, sparking debate about Mamdani’s authenticity as a Staten Island politician. In response, Mamdani appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live where he addressed Davidson’s concerns regarding the BQE construction delays, announcing plans for a $4 billion rehabilitation project set to begin in 2030.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Pete Davidson, the comedian and Staten Island native, questioned Mayor Zohran Mamdani's connection to the borough during an interview with Variety on October 7, 2026. Davidson expressed doubt about Mamdani being truly from Staten Island or having its heart, saying "I don’t think he’s Staten Island." He highlighted that Staten Island is a conservative stronghold in New York City and described his family's political leanings as generally supportive of Donald Trump but not extreme.
In response to Davidson's comments, Mamdani focused on the city-owned section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) rehabilitation project, which is part of Staten Island’s priorities. The $4 billion BQE Central Project aims to rehabilitate a stretch between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street, with construction expected to start in 2030.
Written for “Pete Davidson Comedy Critique” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but all 2 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 62123: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-07
Pete Davidson takes fresh aim at Zohran Mamdani with biting critique: ‘Is he Staten Island?’
asserted
he → take → critique
Pete Davidson questioned Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s affiliation with his beloved hometown of Staten Island.
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Davidson → question → Island
Davidson — a loud and proud local — wondered if the mayor had any connection to the borough during a recent sit-down with Variety.
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mayor → wonder → Variety
I don’t know,” Davidson said.
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Davidson → know → ?
“I don’t think he’s from Staten Island.”
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he → think → Island
The “Saturday Night Live” comedian debated if Mamdani had “Staten Island’s heart,” before admitting, “I don’t think he’s Staten Island.”
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he → debate → heart
He added, “I don’t have a problem with the guy, but I definitely don’t think he’s Staten Island at all.
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he → add → guy
Staten Island’s the only red place in New York, and it’s violently red.”
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it → ’ → York
Davidson, 32, explained, “You know, most of my family is, you know, on the red side.
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you → explain → side
It’s not that, like, storm the capital vibe.
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It → ’ → vibe
It’s more just like, ‘[Trump is] funny.
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Trump → ’ → ?
Like, I don’t care.
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I → care → ?
I just need something different.'”
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I → need → something
He continued, “Like, it’s not like a racist, misogynistic sort of thing, it’s just like … it’s 1985 over there.
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it → continue → thing
You are not a real Staten Island politician unless you have a secret family and know one mobster.”
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you → have → mobster
“I would not trust you to run Staten Island,” he added.
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he → trust → Island
The BQE, short for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, is a major New York City highway that runs through Brooklyn and Queens and has long been criticized for traffic congestion and aging infrastructure.
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that → run → congestion
Davidson’s request was immediately met with cheers and thunderous applause from the studio audience.
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request → meet → audience
“You hit on something,” Kimmel said.
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Kimmel → hit → something
“Look at that,” Davidson said, gesturing toward the crowd before Kimmel noted, “That’s the loudest response I’ve ever gotten.”
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I → look → crowd
“The BQE has been under construction since before I was born.
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I → bear → construction
And here’s my problem with it,” Davidson said.
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Davidson → ’ → it
“They’re never doing anything.
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They → do → anything
Someone’s just standing there eating a sandwich or on the phone, and there’s all these cones around.”
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Someone → stand → phone
He added, “So I don’t know what mob front or whatever, who’s getting money from whatever, but just fix it, please.”
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who → add → it
At the end of Mamdani’s appearance on the show, Kimmel presented the mayor with Davidson’s question as promised.
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Kimmel → present → question
“Pete Davidson wants to know what’s going on in the BQE,” Kimmel said.
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Kimmel → want → BQE
“He says he drives by it and he sees nobody doing anything.
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nobody → say → anything
He said it’s been like since before he was born.”
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he → say → ?
Mamdani responded by highlighting his office’s BQE Central Project, a $4 billion plan to rehabilitate the city-owned section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street, with construction expected to begin in 2030.
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construction → respond → 2030
“We’re going to be putting a multibillion-dollar plan to actually repair the part the city owns,” Mamdani said.
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Mamdani → go → part
“Which is the part that is currently the most at risk and that’s going to be proceeding over the next 10 years.
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that → go → years
“So you’re saying Pete’s daughter will also be complaining about this,” Kimmel joked as Mamdani and the audience laughed.
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Mamdani → say → this
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