New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani drew attention over the weekend when he was unable to complete a single unassisted bench press rep at the annual Men’s Day open streets event in Brooklyn.
Video from Saturday’s event shows the 33-year-old Democratic nominee attempting to lift a bar loaded with 135 pounds but needing assistance from a spotter. He managed two fully assisted reps before standing up and crediting the spotter, who was from the group 500 Men Making a Difference.
The moment quickly spread online, with critics dubbing him “Mamscrawny.”
Lolll Mamdani tried showing off at a “men’s day” event by doing the bench press and couldn’t do a single rep without help pic.twitter.com/JNG2SLBfI9
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 24, 2025
Rivals Seize on Viral Clip
Political opponents were quick to respond. Mayor Eric Adams, 64, released a video of himself performing multiple unassisted reps at the same location, with the same spotter nearby.
“64 vs 33. A lifetime of hard work vs. a silver spoon. The results speak for themselves,” Adams wrote on X. “The weight of the job is too heavy