Mamdani shrugs off AOC's 'Woke 1' comments, but critic says progressives can't be absolved of 'radical' past

New York City Mayor was asked Wednesday during a press conference about his thoughts on whether the "Woke 1" era was "crazy," following Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., going viral for her recent comments.

"I have a local city councilman that has this saying, ','" Ocasio-Cortez said on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday, adding, "And I think that whats important is that we have to assess what a candidate is saying now."

In response, Mamdani emphasized that people can "change" and "develop" their beliefs while adding that he does not support things like .

FRANCESCA HONG ASKED ABOUT LACK OF AOC ENDORSEMENT AND THE HOUSE DEM'S REMARK ABOUT THE 'WOKE 1' ERA

"Look, I think that each person has a responsibility to tell New Yorkers, to tell Americans when they're running for office what they believe," Mamdani said. "And sometimes, what you believe can change. It can develop. It can grow. And I know that there are some for whom they still believe in that."

"I've made very clear that I do not believe in defunding the police, that I will not be defunding the police, and that to me, delivering critical public safety also looks like working with our police department alongside many other partners," he said. 

"And we've seen over the first seven months of this administration what that can look like when we're talking about the fewest murders on record in , the fewest shooting incidents on record in New York City," Mamdani continued. 

During a Friday radio appearance, the New York City mayor put distance between his administration and the Democratic Socialists of America's (DSA's) abolition platform, defending police, prisons and jails. 

While praising the efforts of the NYPD, he emphasized that public safety should not come at the expense of justice.

"I would say, especially when it comes to public safety, I've been very clear that we have our , we have prisons, we have jails [and] the purpose of these is also to ensure that we are delivering safety and justice hand in hand. And what that means is that New Yorkers need not choose between the two," Mamdani said.

reached out to the mayor's office for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Though Mamdani told the press on Wednesday that he does not believe in defunding the police and distanced himself from his past comments he had previously come under fire for that explicitly called to defund or dismantle the New York Police Department.

"We don't need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety. What we need is to #DefundTheNYPD. But your deal with [New York City mayor] uses budget tricks to keep as many cops as possible on the beat. NO to fake cuts - defund the police," he posted on June 28, 2020.

In December of the same year, he also called for it to be "dismantled."

"All this misery. All for money. In the last budget, the City Council tried to make the NYPD reduce its overtime budget by half. They simply refused. There is no negotiating with an institution this wicked & corrupt. Defund it. Dismantle it. End the cycle of violence," he wrote.

In a comment to Fox News Digital, New York State Republican Party Communications Director David Laska said Mamdani was attempting to ignore the "radical extremism" of the past.

"Americans will never forget and never forgive the radical extremism of the 'woke' era, in which countless people had their livelihoods ripped away for espousing conservative values, including the overwhelmingly popular positions that men have no place in womens spaces and that our border should be secure," Laska said.

He added, "How ironic, and how utterl