The top NYC mayoral candidates apparently refer to themselves in the 3rd person

Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee in the race to become mayor of New York, reportedly often refers to himself in the third person, a habit that would seem a little less weird if presumed Democratic nominee Eric Adams hadn't already admitted to doing the exact same thing. Is there something in the water?

"Don't sleep on Curtis Sliwa, Eric," Sliwa said, referring to himself while sending a message to his likely opponent in an interview with Politico. "New Yorkers know Curtis Sliwa. I come right at you."

Voters "know that Curtis is going to crack down on crime. They know that," added Sliwa later, once again abandoning first-person syntax for a bizarre third-person approach.

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As far as reasoning for such a habit, Sliwa neglected to mention (for Adams, it's supposedly a reflection technique). Regardless, if and when Adams' primary win is clinched, a match-up between the two candidates would make for quite the debate.