Just mere hours after getting a letter from President Donald Trump’s U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy saying that the Federal Highway Administration was taking back its approval for congestion pricing, New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul put out a statement expressing her anger and frustration with the administration. Not long after the letter was received, the president himself declared congestion pricing dead and declared on social media, “long live the king,” a remark that did not sit well with Hochul at all.
In her statement, Hochul said she didn’t care if folks liked or hated congestion pricing, referring to President Trump’s move as an assault on the sovereignty of the state. “I don’t care if you love congestion pricing or hate it. This is an attack on our sovereign identity, our independence from Washington.” Commenting on Trump’s “kingly” declaration, Hochul said, “This is what we fought for — people like Alexander Hamilton and others fought for — to set up a system where we are not subservient to a king or anyone else out of Washington.”
Up to this point, Hochul had refrained from going full blast against Trump and utilizing extreme rhetoric in her criticisms of the administration, unlike many of her fellow governors across the country. Hochul stated numerous times in the past that she prefers to find common ground with the president in order to better serve the people of New York. In her own words, she’s tried not to “poke the bear.”
According to City & State New York, after the letter from Duffy, that is no longer the case. “The bear’s been poked,” Hochul said after reporters asked if she would be taking a different approach with President Trump. She went on to say she’s not “leading the resistance,” but now that the administration has struck first, she’s ready to start attacking.
“Someone draws first blood, you respond,” Hochul stated, making a reference to legendary action film Rambo: First Blood. “I didn’t draw first blood. There’s a response that’s required when someone comes after you – someone just came after my state.” The Democratic governor stated that she’s still willing to talk with the president to find common ground. However, she believes Trump went too far.
“You went too far because you came after New Yorkers,” Hochul told the press. The tough talk came a week after the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against New York and Hochul over a state law that allows illegal aliens to get driver’s licenses and prevents DMV data from being accessed by immigration enforcement officials.
Hochul continued her unhinged rant to describe the conversation she had with President Trump following the lawsuit being made public. “I called up the president and said, ‘I’m not coming down tomorrow,’” she said. “‘I don’t know what your plan is. Are you going to slap handcuffs on my god**n hands?’” Expressing her inner theater kid, Hochul also used a prop during the press conference, holding up a fake cover of Time magazine that featured the president sporting a crown with the word “TRUMP” at the top.
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“Next time you’re stuck in traffic, the next time your train is delayed, the next time you’re in a flooded station because infrastructure carries are not made – I want you to think of this,” she said while pointing at the fake cover. Her final words on the matter were packed full of defiance concerning the administration’s order to shut down congestion pricing program’s license plate readers, saying, “The cameras stay on.” Watch her here:
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video