New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) didn’t mince her words toward Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) on Friday after the MAGA Republican continued her spree of Islamophobic attacks against New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
Stefanik — who is running for governor and looks to challenge Hochul as she seeks a second full term next year — seemingly distanced herself from Donald Trump after the president praised Mamdani in their Oval Office meeting, one where Trump dismissed Stefanik’s “jihadist” label for the mayor-elect.
“We all want NYC to succeed. But we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one,” wrote Stefanik on X before leaning into an attack she’s repeatedly hurled at Mamdani since his mayoral primary upset in June.
“If he walks like a jihadist If he talks like a jihadist If he campaigns like a jihadist If he supports jihadists, He’s a jihadist. And he’s @KathyHochul ’s jihadist.”
Hochul — who declined to endorse Mamdani for months before eventually doing so in September when she wrote that she’s looking for the next mayor to not “surrender” to Trump — hit back at Stefanik in a live interview on MS NOW.
