Vickie Paladino: Quotes and Statements
Paladino launched her public career in 2017 with a confrontation directed at then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, in which she demanded to know why he had traveled to Germany to attend a protest while a police officer had just been killed in the Bronx. She accused the mayor of failing both the police and the country by leaving during a crisis . The exchange was recorded and broadcast widely, establishing Paladino's combative public persona .
Throughout her council tenure, Paladino has repeatedly emphasized her support for the NYPD. She joined Republican colleagues in calling on the city to restore cooperation between the police department and federal immigration enforcement, framing the issue as essential to public safety 3. After the assignment of additional officers to the 109th Precinct in her district, she cited the deployment as evidence that her advocacy was producing results .
On her first day in office in January 2022, Paladino refused to show proof of vaccination and compared the requirement to authoritarian regimes in Europe during the 1940s. The remark drew widespread condemnation for trivializing the Holocaust, and Paladino subsequently issued an apology for the specific comparison while maintaining her opposition to the underlying mandate . She later secured a religious exemption that allowed her to participate in council proceedings in person .
In June 2022, Paladino responded to a New York Post report about city funding for the Drag Queen Story Hour program by describing it as inappropriate for children and threatening to cut funding to any school in her district that hosted such events. She used language characterizing the program as harmful to children and accused its supporters of enabling the sexualization of minors . After facing calls for censure from the LGBTQIA+ Caucus and condemnation from fellow council members, Paladino said she stood by her position on the program while expressing regret for any personal offense caused to members of the drag community . She was removed from the Mental Health Committee in March 2023 as a consequence of those statements .
Following the October 7, 2023, attacks, Paladino became one of the most vocal pro-Israel voices on the council. In late 2023, she clashed publicly with Councilmember Shahana Hanif over a potential Gaza ceasefire resolution, with Hanif challenging Paladino to express her views in person rather than on social media .
In May 2024, after NYPD arrests at New York University, Paladino posted on X that the overwhelming majority of those arrested were students rather than outside agitators. She described the educational system as producing individuals she characterized as dangerous and called for the institutions and faculty overseeing the protests to be held accountable . In a separate post that same weekend, she referred to pro-Palestinian subway demonstrators as the most objectionable members of society . She also sponsored resolutions aimed at banning facial coverings during protests .
In June 2025, Paladino posted on X calling for the deportation of then-mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, questioning his views on the country. Mamdani, a naturalized U.S. citizen who emigrated from Uganda as a child, responded through media channels . The remark drew condemnation as anti-immigrant rhetoric directed at a U.S. citizen .
Following the December 2025 Bondi Beach shooting during a Hanukkah celebration, Paladino posted a call for the removal of Muslims from western countries and urged the federal government to create a legal process for revoking citizenship. She subsequently deleted the post after condemnation from colleagues, including then-Mayor-elect Mamdani . In a separate February 2026 post, she described a photograph of Mayor Mamdani praying with Muslim sanitation workers before a winter storm as evidence of religious expansionism and stated that the population was being supplanted .
On the day New York City's congestion pricing program launched in January 2025, Paladino posted a message describing the capability of commercially available laser pointers to damage camera sensors and advising readers not to aim such devices at any cameras. When a user asked whether the pointers could affect congestion pricing toll equipment, she responded with emojis suggesting she found the idea worth considering . MTA Chair Janno Lieber called the remarks inappropriate for an elected official . In a City & State NY profile, Paladino's son Thomas confirmed that he had provided the idea for the post, which both characterized as humorous rather than a serious directive .
In a January 2025 profile published by City & State NY, Paladino was described as aware of her reputation and comfortable with it. The profile noted that she has maintained strong constituent engagement in her district through regular in-person appearances at community events, school functions, and local businesses, which her supporters credit as a distinguishing feature of her approach to office .
On election night in November 2025, after Mamdani's mayoral victory was announced, Paladino addressed supporters by dismissing his win and declaring she would not recognize his authority over her district. She characterized the mayoral outcome as an attack on middle-class neighborhoods and told opponents to prepare themselves .