New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was immediately criticized after making a bad joke during the signing of a bill about Holocaust education in schools Wednesday.
“I just want to say to the 1.77 million Jews who call New York home: Thank you for calling New York home. Don’t go anywhere or to another state,” Hochul said.
“Florida is overrated. I shouldn’t say this, but look at the governor. It starts at the top down,” she joked.
“Getting in trouble – gotta stay on script,” she added before moving to introduce Holocaust survivor Celia Kener at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.
Legislation signed by Hochul will require the state Education Department to study how well schools are teaching students about the Holocaust.
“The lessons of the Holocaust need to be front and center in our minds today, as we see hatred, rising up to the surface, unfettered in ways we’ve not seen before in my lifetime,” she said.
Hochul’s poke at DeSantis was not taken lightly, with many criticizing her on social media.
“After a breakup, some people cling to the hopes of reconciliation. It’s sad to see governors acting like desperate exes. Perhaps they should spend more time relieving their people of oppressive taxes, needless mandates, shuttered businesses, and crime-infested cities,” said Dave Abrams, a DeSantis campaign spokesperson.
“Florida’s freedom agenda works — they ought to try it,” he added.
Former NY State Assemblyman Dov Hikind tweeted “For @GovKathyHochul to attack @GovRonDeSantis at a Holocaust bill signing event is discrediting to her candidacy for governor.”
“That she did so while NY is the national epicenter of violent antisemitism is proof she cares more for politics than people!” Hikind said.
NY Rep. Lee Zeldin, the GOP nominee for governor, told the New York Post “Can Kathy Hochul really be this totally out to lunch and clueless about why New York leads the entire nation in population loss?”
In June, the Post reported that 61,728 New Yorkers fled to Florida in 2021. High taxes and rising crime are just two of the reasons New York residents have chosen to leave.