NY Gov. Kathy Hochul slights Zohran Mamdani in live TV reality check, hints she may not endorse

Gov. Kathy Hochul slighted mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani in a live TV interview Sunday — signaling she may not endorse him in the election even after he praised her “courage.”

“We still have many differences,” Hochul said, keeping her distance from her fellow Democrat during a Fox News Sunday interview. “I don’t know how you whitewash that away.”

Fox host Shannon Bream had read a statement from Mamdani effusively praising Hochul for sparring with President Trump and Republicans over redistricting fights that could dictate who controls Congress.

Mamdani said Hochul showed “courage” and was “meeting the moment.”

“Is the feeling mutual? Is Mamdani a good choice” [for New York City mayor], Bream asked, sparking Hochul to bring up their “many differences.”

“He can agree with me and many people agree with me and I think it’s not just Democrats who say, ‘New Yorkers stand up for our rights.’ We do that,” Hochul said.

“We’re fighters. I’m a mom from Buffalo. I guess they’re not used to taking on a mom from Buffalo.”

Hochul, who is seeking re-election next year, has come out against Mamdani’s proposals to hike taxes by $9 billion on millionaires and corporations in the city to fund his affordability agenda of subsidized child care, fare-free bus services, housing expansion and government-run grocery stores.

Those taxes need sign off from the governor and state lawmakers, who also are up for re-election in 2026.

Despite the apparent snub, Hochul did say she agrees with Mamdani’s focus on tackling New York’s high cost of living and making both the city and state more affordable for residents.

“There’s many areas of disagreement,” she noted. “But also there’s areas of alignment including affordability. His election touched a nerve. And people said, ‘you know what, we’re just not getting ahead.’”

She claimed that President Trump’s policies, including imposing tariffs, have not helped.

“There’s a sense that we need some change now,” Hochul said.

Hochul then hinted she may sit out the race and not endorse Mamdani, who is running against two other Democrats running on independent party lines — Mayor Eric Adams and ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whom she served with as lieutenant governor. She took over as governor when Cuomo resigned as governor amid sexual misconduct accusations that he denies.

“I already worked with two different mayors. I’ll continue to work with whomever the voters want me to and I’ll make it work out. I’m not going to go to war with the 8 million residents of New York I also represent,” the governor said.

“My job is to calm things down,” Hochul said. “Let’s see what the election results are. But people have to recognize that the candidate for mayor [Mamdani] has also touched a nerve and we need to respond to that. I’m aligned with him that we need to find ways to make life more affordable for New Yorkers.”

It wouldn’t be the first time Hochul stayed on the sidelines during a high-profile mayoral showdown.

In her native Buffalo in 2021, democratic socialist India Walton defeated then-sitting Mayor Byron Brown in the Democratic Party primary but Brown, a moderate, continued as a write-in candidate.

Hochul stayed out of the race, and Brown won re-election in a landslide in November as the write-in candidate.