MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle and NY Gov. Kathy Hochul clash over crime concerns

MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle clashed with New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday as the two got into a heated debate over crime.

According to Fox News, Ruhle told Hochul during their interview that New Yorkers don’t feel safe and went on to ask Hochul what she was doing to address their concerns.

Hochul used the opportunity to discuss her new partnership with Eric Adams to tackle crime and highlighted that she was able to get a lot of guns off the street. At this point, Ruhle interrupted her.

“Okay, I’m gonna interrupt you then. Here’s the problem. We don’t feel safe. You might be working closely with Mayor Adams; you may have spent a whole lot of money. But I walked into my pharmacy, and everything is on lockdown because of shoplifters. I am not going into the subway. People do not feel safe in this town,” Ruhle said.

She added, “So, you may have done these things, but right now, we’re not feeling good. Were worried we could be San Francisco.”

Hochul replied by saying that New York would never become San Francisco and again said that murders and shootings have decreased “dramatically,” Fox reported. She also noted that crime is up much higher in other states.

Ruhle hit back by saying that Hochul should not be concerning herself with issues in other states.

“It doesn’t matter what’s happening in other cities, or other states. The reason people don’t feel safe in New York, is why they are starting to say, can Kathy Hochul be the right governor? Right? It doesn’t really matter what’s happening in Pennsylvania or San Francisco, you need to get New Yorkers’ votes and safety is a top issue for us.”

Hochul said that she understood this point of view and that she rode the subway this morning.

“I understand the sense of anxiety. And that’s why a part of it is getting people who are severely ill out of the subways. Because you don’t know if they’re gonna have an episode. Something happens, they push somebody. That’s the fear of the unknown. We have to get them out of there, we’re doing it right now. Cameras, when you’re on a subway, the perpetrators now know they’re being watched, there’s a record of it. That’s going to start having a return effect,” Hochul said.

Hochul also accused Republicans of inflating New York’s crime and fearmongering.

“These are master manipulators,” Hochul said, referring to Republicans. “They have this conspiracy going all across America trying to convince people that in Democratic states that they’re not as safe. Well guess what? They’re also not only election deniers, they’re data deniers,” she said.

Hochul then said that Democratic cities and states were “safer.”