Hochul Goes After Blakeman for ‘Absolutely Despicable’ Comment About Brad Lander

Governor Kathy Hochul is going after her Republican opponent in this year’s gubernatorial race, Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman, for arguing that a Jewish Democrat running for Congress would have been a concentration camp guard during the Nazi’s reign. Ms. Hochul, who holds a large polling lead, says Mr. Blakeman is simply auditioning for a role in the Trump administration.The comments that led to Ms. Hochul’s rebuke stems from former New York City comptroller Brad Lander’s victory in a Democratic congressional primary on Tuesday. Mr. Lander, who is Jewish and has described himself as a “liberal Zionist,” beat Congressman Dan Goldman, a more stridently pro-Israel lawmaker who accepted support from AIPAC. Mr. Lander had been endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.Unlike Mr. Mamdani and some of the other left-wing congressional candidates who won their primaries on Tuesday, Mr. Lander supports Israel as a Jewish state with democratic rights for all people, and opposes the boycotts, divestment, and sanctions movement supported by many on the left. Mr. Blakeman, who is also Jewish, says Mr. Lander is nothing more than a collaborator. “Brad Lander — he’s a disgrace,” Mr. Blakeman said during an appearance on Newsmax on Wednesday. “He’s antisemitic. Even though he’s Jewish, this guy would be a camp guard in the concentration camp if he could.” Mr. Blakeman went on to call Mr. Lander “terrible” and “a disaster.”“The fact that he’s even won the Democratic Party primary shows you that [Democrats] are in bad shape and they need a redirection, and they need to do that by voting for me for governor,” Mr. Blakeman said live on air. He said that “traditional, common sense, moderate Democrats” should get behind him amid Democrats’ turn against Israel.“I will stop the lunatics in their party,” Mr. Blakeman said. A spokesman for Mr. Blakeman did not immediately respond to a message seeking additional comment.In response to Mr. Blakeman’s remarks, Ms. Hochul argued that he is simply trying to mimic President Trump’s style of personal attack. She called Mr. Blakeman’s attack on Mr. Lander “absolutely despicable.” The governor supported Mr. Goldman, not Mr. Lander, in the Tenth District’s Democratic primary.“It just reminds New Yorkers that every single time Bruce Blakeman opens up his mouth, he’s simply auditioning for his next role in the Trump administration after he loses the election. So he’s not focused on what helps New Yorkers, he’s focused on division,” Ms. Hochul told NY1.“He wants to separate us, and the Americans are sick and tired of that, New Yorkers are sick and tired of that. That’s all the Trump administration has done, and he’s feeding right into that,” Ms. Hochul said. “That’s why people are going to continue to reject him,” she said of Mr. Blakeman, adding that the remarks about Mr. Lander should be disqualifying.

Hochul Goes After Blakeman for ‘Absolutely Despicable’ Comment About Brad Lander

Hochul Goes After Blakeman for ‘Absolutely Despicable’ Comment About Brad Lander

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