In a deeply embarrassing moment from the opening ceremony for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage, New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) faced jeers and boos from the crowd, nearly drowning out her speech about how friendly the city was.
The reception was so icy that Carson Daly, the host, made a sarcastic quip. Similarly, U.S. captain Keegan Bradley was able to win the crowd over with a “Go Giants!” chant after an equally awkward moment with European captain Luke Donald.
In any case, Hochul was jeered by the crowd. Reacting to her speech, one member of the public said, “She has no idea! She lives in Albany!” Echoing this point, another combative New Yorker expressed his anger by saying, “Get her outta here!”
In any case, Hochul ended her remarks by saying, “We have the most friendly people you will ever meet.” After the chilly response, Carson Daly made a sarcastic quip to release the tension with the unhappy crowd. “That went well,” he jokingly said.
After that, European Captain Luke Donald claimed, “New York is a place where if you show up with talent and a fighting spirit, the city will get behind you.” Interjecting, a New Yorker yelled, “No, it won’t!” After a moment, the European said, ‘You’ll make us earn every cheer. We’re fuelled by something money can’t buy, by resilience, togetherness, and proving people wrong.”
As we reported, this is far from the only time Kathy Hochul has faced public opposition. Earlier this year, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to withhold federal funding from New York City’s subway for failing to curb crime. He said that to receive funds, Hochul must keep the subway”safe” and free of violence.
In his initial comments, Sean Duffy said, “We give millions of dollars a year to the New York subway, and part of the requirement is they keep it safe. And so, what we’re going to do is say, ‘Listen, if you can’t keep your subways safe. If people can’t go to the subway and not be afraid of being stabbed or thrown in front of tracks or burnt, and we can’t consider the subway a subway and not a homeless shelter, we’re going to pull your money.’”
"*" indicates required fields
Building on this point, he noted that New York is not the only city that would face this issue. “And it’s not just to New York; it’ll be Chicago, it’ll be Washington, D.C. The American people expect their subways to be places where they can come in and out of cities and do it safely. If they don’t get on board to change their ways, we’re pulling cash,” he announced.
Watch the clip here:
Apparently, Hochul was successfully scared. Announcing her reaction, she said, “I want to see uniformed police on the platforms, but more importantly, we will put an officer on every single train, overnight – 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. – over the next six months, and the state will support these efforts financially.” Adding, “Tell Sean Duffy, we’ve got this.”
Featured image from embedded video