Actor Announces NYC Mayoral Run as a Republican in 2029

Actor-turned-podcaster Michael Rapaport is taking his trademark fire to New York City politics, declaring he will run for mayor in 2029—and promising to end what he calls the city’s “free-for-all socialist circus.”

Rapaport, now 56, made the announcement in a video posted Monday, telling followers he’s fed up with the direction of the city under newly sworn-in Democrat Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who took office just days earlier.

“I, Michael Rapaport, will be running for mayor of New York City in 2029,” he declared. “You got Zohran the moron now. But have no fear. Mayor Rapaport will be here.”

The longtime actor, born and raised in Manhattan, said his campaign under a 2026 Trump presidency will focus on restoring order, affordability, and honesty—three things he claims City Hall abandoned years ago.

Rapaport didn’t mince words about what life under a Rapaport administration would look like.

“My campaign will be based on the fact that nothing will be free,” he said. “I’ll do my best to make New York City affordable, but you will be getting nothing for free.”

He added, “I’m not gonna lie to you. I’m not gonna bulls— you. I will do my best to make New York City safe, affordable, and thriving. And when I screw up, I’ll admit it without a s—-eating grin.”

Republican strategists watching the city’s national profile rise again under President Trump’s second term say Rapaport’s no-nonsense message could resonate with voters frustrated by crime spikes, migrant-crisis chaos, and progressive economic experiments.

“New Yorkers are exhausted,” one GOP consultant told us. “Rapaport’s blunt style might be exactly the shock therapy the city needs.”

Rapaport has repeatedly criticized Mamdani, particularly over the mayor’s reluctance to fully condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which drew national outrage in 2024.

Rapaport, a vocal supporter of Israel, blasted Mamdani during an interview with NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo last year.

“It is a slap in the face that this person will not even have the decency and the courage to articulate exactly what ‘globalize the intifada’ means,” Rapaport said.

Sources close to the actor say his frustration with rising antisemitism in New York, combined with the city’s “dangerous political drift,” helped push him toward a 2029 bid.

Mamdani was sworn in on January 1, but Rapaport appears determined to begin shaping the narrative years before the next election.

“He sees what’s happening under Mamdani and he’s not waiting around to watch the city get dragged deeper into chaos,” a friend of Rapaport said. “He thinks he can save it.”

With Trump back in the White House and national politics sharpening ideological divides, New York’s 2029 mayoral race may become one of the most-watched local elections in the country.

And Rapaport, never one to stay quiet, seems eager to make it a fight.