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New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Hochul says Mamdani's shock win has turned her into the ‘therapist in chief' — as she signals she will block his radical ‘tax the rich' plan
Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday that New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani's shock primary win had turned her into the 'therapist in chief' — as she sought to quell furor over the socialist's radical 'tax the rich' plan. The governor, who is yet to endorse Mamdani after his mayoral win set off a political earthquake within the Democratic party, signalled she planned to block his push to hikes taxes for Big Apple millionaires and large corporations, if he's elected. Gov. Kathy Hochul says Zohran Mamdani's shocking NYC mayoral primary win has turned her into New York's 'therapist in chief.' MSNBC Advertisement 'I've spoken to hundreds of business leaders saying, 'Listen, nothing is going to happen to this city without me being aware of it and involved in it'. So don't talk about packing up and leaving and all these other overreactions,' Hochul told MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' on Wednesday. 'I've become the therapist in chief it seems. So I'm saying to everybody, 'We're going be okay.' Maybe it's the mom in me. I know how to calm down situations and we'll get through this.' Hochul also suggested she will block the Democratic Socialist's divisive 'tax the rich' plan. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post Advertisement 'Don't panic everybody. Let the process play out, let the voters decide and then we'll deal with it,' she added. Mamdani has stoked widespread outcry with his promise to raise taxes for the city's ultra-wealthy, as well as his slew of anti-Israel comments on the campaign trail — including his refusal to condemn the 'globalize the intifada' rallying cry. Hochul said she raised the two issues directly with Mamdani when they spoke recently. Advertisement In addition to reassuring the business community, the governor said Mamdani's number one job was 'healing' his relationship with Jewish New Yorkers. 'I said 'You have a lot of healing to do with the Jewish community. Many of your words have been hurtful and hateful to people and their interpretation of it',' she said. 'So job number one is to straighten that relationship out if you can and to get them to understand that if you become the mayor, we don't know the outcome, but if you become a mayor that you'll be a mayor for everyone and no one should have to about being in a city and feeling less safe because of who the mayor is and their religious beliefs.'
Politico
17 hours ago
- Politico
Mamdani's biggest DC defender is… Ritchie Torres?
HIS HATER BECAME HIS WAITER: Israel-supporting, defund-the-police-decryin' and Cuomo-primary-allignin' Rep. Ritchie Torres seems to be going out of his way to defend Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani. When President Donald Trump threatened to arrest Mamdani, Torres called it 'disgraceful.' When more Republicans attacked Mamdani, he slammed them as Islamophobic on MSNBC. And when the controversy emerged around Mamdani identifying as African American on his college application, Torres defended him. 'I have had political opponents question the authenticity of Afro-Latino identity, and question my blackness,' he told The New York Times. 'And I deeply, deeply resent it. It makes my blood boil.' On Thursday, Torres even introduced a bill to censure a Tennessee House Republican who called for Mamdani's deportation. Those who know the Bronx's staunchest supporter of Israel may be surprised at his increasing bid to shield Mamdani from the onslaught of GOP attacks. But he is just the latest backer of Cuomo's primary bid who has sought to distance himself from the former governor — and even warm up to the lefty nominee. Today, Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn — who backed Mayor Eric Adams, then endorsed Cuomo, and now backs Mamdani — appeared in a cheery video with Mamdani in which the pair toured Brooklyn's Little Haiti and asked voters to put Mamdani on their general election ballots. Torres still has not made an endorsement in the general election, but he made clear his Cuomo endorsement 'only applies to the Democratic primary' and had a 'mutually respectful' phone call with Mamdani. His team would not reveal to Playbook much about the conversation, beyond that Torres expressed he's committed to having a working relationship. Torres also faces the prospect of defending a challenge to his own seat from former Bronx electeds. Long-shot mayoral candidate and Mamdani-ally Michael Blake has recently taken to attacking Torres on social media since the primary, and pro-Trump pol Ruben Diaz Sr. said he might vie for Torres' post. On Monday, Torres was spotted smiling ear to ear in a group photo with Mamdani. His team did not comment on whether the two interacted at all during that event, either. 'If Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans are despicably demanding the 'deportation' and 'denaturalization' of a Democratic nominee — simply because he is a Muslim American — then I will speak out forcefully against their bigotry, and Democrats across the ideological spectrum should do the same,' Torres told Playbook in a statement. 'We must stand up and speak out against all forms of bigotry with moral clarity and consistency.' — Jason Beeferman FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL FLASH WARNING: The treacherous flash flood on Monday night and high temperatures expected later this week are laying bare the massive climate and infrastructure challenges facing New York City. As the city saw its second-wettest hour in history — and videos of rainwater spewing into subway stations went viral — Mamdani and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams were in agreement that the sewer systems of yesteryear were not meant to handle the storms of today. Mamdani honed in on the issue Monday night on X. 'Earlier tonight, NYC was drenched by more than 2' of rain in a single hour, flooding streets, basements and subways,' the Democratic nominee for mayor posted, thanking city workers and emergency responders. 'We must upgrade our infrastructure for this new climate reality.' Adams, who's running as an independent against Mamdani in the general election, held a news conference Tuesday. 'At the heart of what we are facing, the rulebook, things have changed drastically,' the mayor said on a conference call with reporters. 'Second highest rainfall in Central Park, not due to a Category 5 hurricane or a tropical storm. … It really must resonate: Our sewer system is not built to manage this much water at a short period of time.' The deep investment and long-term planning necessary to address the climate crisis will play a key role in the race for mayor — even as affordability and public safety remain the top issues for voters. Already, how to implement Local Law 97, intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the largest buildings, has come into sharper focus. Mamdani has signaled he would enforce the law more robustly, The New York Times reported. — Emily Ngo with Amira McKee TRUMP SPEAKS: Much of the primary between Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo revolved around who could better stand up to President Donald Trump as mayor of New York City. Trump said today outside the White House that he believes the former governor has a 'good shot' at defeating Mamdani, a democratic socialist who's been a top foil for Republicans. 'I think he should stay. I think he has a shot,' the president said when asked about Cuomo announcing he'll run in the general election as an independent after losing the Democratic primary. Trump, who has a good working relationship with Eric Adams, would not say which candidate he prefers. But he said of Cuomo, 'He's got to run a tough campaign. You know he's running against a communist; I would think he has a good shot at winning.' Mamdani is not a communist. Updated city Board of Elections results today showed he defeated Cuomo in the primary by 12.8 percentage points. — Emily Ngo FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Democratic House candidate Blake Gendebien, who seeks the North County seat held by Rep. Elise Stefanik, will report nearly $2 million cash on hand in his federal campaign finance filing today. It's a massive haul for a relatively unknown Democratic challenger in a deep-red district. But Stefanik, the high-profile Republican weighing a bid for governor, has a monster campaign war chest of her own at $10 million, according to her filing. Gendebien, a dairy farmer, raised $212,000 in the past three months — significantly less than the $3 million he pulled in the first quarter. — Emily Ngo From the Capitol STEFANIK SLAMS CUNY: Rep. Elise Stefanik called on City University of New York Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez to step down after criticizing him for failing to adequately tackle campus antisemitism. Stefanik — who has built a reputation for grilling college presidents over the issue — assailed Matos Rodríguez throughout a three-hour plus congressional hearing for allegedly failing to discipline faculty and employees with ties to pro-Palestinian activism. She urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to push the chancellor to resign, as the Republican lawmaker eyes a gubernatorial bid. 'I am calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul — the worst governor in America who has bent the knee to the antisemites in her party — to call on Chancellor Rodriguez to resign,' Stefanik told reporters following the hearing. 'She needs to make that call today.' Matos Rodríguez defended his work with Jewish organizations. 'Anybody who behaves in any way that is antisemitic, that sponsors violence against members of the Jewish community or any community discriminated [against] or harassed will be investigated and held accountable based on our rules,' he said. — Madina Touré and Bianca Quilantan IN OTHER NEWS — JESSICA VS. JESSICA: Marking the first major lefty primary challenge in the wake of Mamdani's win, Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas filed to run for state Sen. Jessica Ramos' seat. (City & State) — MAMDANI COURTS CONGRESS: On Wednesday, Mamdani plans to rub elbows in Washington with key Democrats, some of whom have been hesitant to endorse the Democratic nominee. (THE CITY) — ADAMS DENIED MATCHING FUNDS: The former mayor's struggles with the New York City Campaign Finance Board continue. (The New York Times) Missed this morning's New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
Raskin points to Musk remarks in demanding release of Epstein files
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) doubled down on his call for the Trump administration to release more material on disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, pointing to tech billionaire Elon Musk's claims that President Trump is implicated in the alleged files. 'Elon Musk said that Donald Trump is in the Epstein files, and that's the real reason they haven't been released,' the lawmaker said Wednesday in an interview on MSNBC's 'All in with Chris Hayes,' paraphrasing comments Musk made during a public feud with the president over the massive tax and spending bill, which was signed into law July 4. Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said the administration should release all the material it has on Epstein but, 'at the very least,' should release material related to Musk's remarks — noting the Tesla CEO spent months in the White House as a senior adviser to the president and had access to sensitive material. 'We've been hearing from Trump and [Attorney General] Pam Bondi and [FBI Director] Kash Patel and the Republicans, for years now, about all of the extraordinarily lurid things that are in there about politicians and people with extraordinary wealth and power who are on Epstein's list,' Raskin said. 'And that's what we want to see. They should release all of it.' 'At the very least, they should release those parts that were indicated by Elon Musk,' the Maryland Democrat continued, 'who, for a while, was Donald Trump's best friend and who was entrusted with the most important job in the administration — which was basically to dismantle the government of the United States — whose repercussions we're living with right now.' Earlier this week, Raskin led his fellow Democrats on the Judiciary panel in a letter asking the Justice Department to release former special counsel Jack Smith's report on the Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation as well as any of the Epstein files that reference Trump. He accused Bondi of shielding potentially damaging information. 'This Administration has repeatedly claimed that President Trump is 'the most transparent and accessible president in American history.' So far, your DOJ has not only failed to live up to this promise, but you have also consistently hidden from the American public materials and information that may be damaging to President Trump,' Raskin wrote in a letter to Bondi, which was signed by 15 other Democrats on the committee. 'Your conduct is particularly worrisome as it appears to be part of a pattern of using the DOJ to cover up evidence of criminal wrongdoing by President Trump, including information allegedly contained in the Epstein files,' it continues. 'We write today to demand that you release the Smith report immediately, as well as any evidence mentioning or referencing Donald Trump in the Epstein files.' The letter came after the DOJ on Monday released a memo concluding Epstein died by suicide and did not keep a client list. That contradicted Musk's accusation that Trump 'is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.' The president has denied being close with Epstein and fumed over questions about the matter during a Tuesday Cabinet meeting. 'Are people still talking about this guy? This creep? That is unbelievable,' Trump said Tuesday during a Cabinet meeting. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
