Kathy Hochul defends Zohran Mamdani’s anti-police rhetoric

Hochul, who has not yet endorsed Mamdani, appeared on CNN's "Inside Politics" on Monday to respond to Stefanik's call for New Yorkers to vote against Mamdani, describing the controversial candidate as a "disgrace" after he referred to NYPD officers as "racist" and a "major threat to public safety" back in 2020.

"That's about as pathetic as it gets. I mean, seriously, going after an unelected official who said something back in 2020 when many people were—I mean, come on, give me a break," said Hochul.

"Stand up to the gun lobby and show that you have the courage to do something that's actually pretty useful instead of just complaining about tweets. I don't talk about tweets," Hochul continued. "I don't do tweets on this. I govern, I know what I'm doing."

Hochul's comments pertain to Rep. Stefanik slamming Mamdani over a June 2020 post on X, formerly Twitter, which the mayoral candidate wrote at the time: "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 NYC Mayor uses budget tricks to keep as many cops as possible on the beat. NO to fake cuts - defund the police."

Stefanik, who represents New York's 21st District and has been rumored to enter the race for NY governor, quoted the post, saying, "Flashback: Kathy Hochul's very own Commie Mamdani. A disgrace and truly unfit to be Mayor of NYC."

The Congresswoman also issued a reminder to New Yorkers about the importance of public safety following Monday's mass shooting, writing on X, "We cannot allow radical anti-police dangerous policies to continue to make it less safe for families, especially law enforcement officers in NY. God Bless our First Responders and heroes in blue."

Hochul went on to defend her record as governor, arguing that she has allegedly invested more money in law enforcement than any of her predecessors, Fox News reported.

"That's what I call funding the police. So stop deflecting," Hochul said of Stefanik.

The CNN host then asked Hochul if she had any plans to endorse Mamdani. Hochul skated around the bush and did not provide a direct answer.

Mamdani, who is running on a Democratic socialist platform, won the Democratic mayoral primary earlier this month, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo.