Gov. Kathy Hochul was berated by hecklers screaming “tax the rich!” as she took the stage at Zohran Mamdani’s packed mayoral rally in Queens Sunday night, forcing the headlining candidate to come out early to quell the unrelenting crowd.
The Democratic governor faced the rowdy audience at the sold-out “New York is Not For Sale” rally at the 13,000-seat Forest Hills Stadium — a get out the vote event featuring lefty darlings Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders in support of the mayoral frontrunner and Democratic nominee.
Hochul, who had recently endorsed Mamdani for New York City mayor despite previously voicing concerns about his tax-the-rich policies, attempted to stay on message during her surprise appearance despite the drowning boos and chants.
“Right now, our city and our state and our country are under attack by Donald Trump and our Republicans in Washington,” Hochul said from the stage, where she was flanked by state Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.
“They’re literally not just taking a wrecking ball to the White House, they are taking a wrecking ball to our values, our people, our progress,” she said.
She continued to rail against the government shutdown, ICE raids in the Big Apple, and the indictment of Attorney General Letitia James.
“Oh, you’re fired up, you’re fired up,” Hochul shot back at the hecklers as they continued to drown out her words.
“Alright. I can hear you,” she said, bringing some brief cheers before audience members lobbed more jeers.
“You want to see Zohran or not?” she asked impatiently, while mispronouncing his name.
Hochul struggled to get through the rest of her remarks, ending with a final plea to take “that energy, that passion” into 2026 midterm elections and at last earned persistant applause from the crowd.
Mamdani then walked onto the stage — well before his scheduled appearance as the final speaker — and hugged the governor, raising her hand in the air to cheers. He greeted Stewart-Cousins and Heastie before escorting Hochul off stage.
Mamdani has yet to endorse the governor for reelection.
During a mayoral debate against ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo — who’s running as an independent — and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa earlier this month, the Democratic socialist said his decision whether to back Hochul would come only after the general election.
Hochul has previously ripped Mamdani’s plan to impose a 2% income tax on Big Apple residents who make more than $1 million a year and inflate the corporate tax from 7.25% to 11.5%, the same as New Jersey.
When Hocul was asked in a June interview if she backed Mamdani’s plan to tax wealthy New Yorkers and up the corporate tax, she flatly replied, “No.”
“I’m not raising taxes at a time where affordability is the big issue,” Hochul told PIX 11.
Early voting has already begun for the mayoral election ahead of Election Day on Nov. 4.
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