New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday she recently spoke with President Donald Trump about his threat to send the National Guard to New York City, though she left the conversation unsure of whether such a deployment would occur, as reported by The New York Post.
Speaking at an event in Harlem, Hochul told reporters that the phone call with Trump took place “a couple of days ago” and that she could not predict the president’s decision. “I don’t know what he’ll do,” Hochul said.
Trump has already deployed the National Guard in Washington, D.C., as part of a federal crackdown on violent crime in the capital. His actions there have included a full federal takeover of the city’s police department.
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Hochul said she attempted to dissuade Trump from pursuing a similar move in New York. “I was very gracious,” she said. “I just said, ‘I’ll tell you what, Mr. President, if I think I need help from the National Guard on the stuff I’m already doing I know where to find them.’”
The governor noted that she had already deployed state National Guard troops to New York City’s subway system earlier this year in response to crime concerns.
She said she also pointed Trump to crime data in the state. “I had that conversation, I said, ‘Mr. President, I can give you all the data to show that crime is down. It’s working. Our policies are working. NYPD is doing their job.’”
Hochul also criticized Trump’s recent executive order aimed at ending cashless bail, a measure that appeared directed in part at New York. The state eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies under reforms signed in 2019 by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
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The governor argued Trump’s order would not apply in New York and rejected his characterization of the state’s laws. “The president is wrong. He’s flat out wrong,” Hochul said. “We don’t have cashless bail in New York.”
She defended the state’s current bail structure, pointing out that crimes including murder, rape, robbery, and other serious violent and sexual offenses remain bail eligible.
“He has no concept of how our laws work here… He’s just trying to throw gasoline on a fire,” Hochul said. “I think he’s going after blue states, Democratic states, states with Democratic governors, states with Democratic mayors. It’s just part of a larger strategy to create chaos.”
The exchange underscores growing tensions between the White House and Democratic state officials as Trump weighs additional deployments of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops to address violent crime across the country.
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