Watch: Kathy Hochul's 'Blame Trump' Debate Strategy Backfires When Republican Opponent Exposes the Real Problem
New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said President Donald Trump’s name over 40 times during her debate with Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman, showing that she is not confident in running on her own record.
Blakeman highlighted this point regarding the top election issue of New York’s high utility bills.
The Empire State has the third-highest residential electricity prices in the country, trailing only the fellow liberal bastions of California and Hawaii, according to the New York Post.
“Just four days ago, you stood on a stage screaming at the top of your lungs, ‘We love Donald Trump,’” Hochul said. “Now which is it that makes him so great? Is it the high utility costs? The high grocery costs? The high gas costs? Is it his unfettered use of ICE terrorizing our neighborhoods?”
Blakeman noted, “Donald Trump didn’t raise utility rates 48 times. You did.”
“Donald Trump didn’t increase our utility bills by 50 percent since you became governor,” the Nassau County executive continued. “You’ve raised the average bill $4,000 a year, and your own energy research department says your policies will raise it another $4,000 in the next five years. It’s out of control, and it’s because of you, Kathy.”
.@NassauExec CALLS OUT Kathy Hochul for raising utility costs on New Yorkers:
“Donald Trump didn’t raise utility rates 48 times – YOU did.”
“You’ve raised the average bill $4,000 a year and your own energy research department says your policies will raise it another $4,000.” https://t.co/kJY72kWwP4
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 13, 2026
Hochul is implementing green energy policies in a push to have New York state powered by 70 percent renewables — wind, solar, and storage projects — by 2030.
“Once selected, these projects will help accelerate our mission to power our state with affordable, reliable, zero-emission electricity for the benefit of all New Yorkers,” the governor said in a 2024 news release.
At another point in the debate, Blakeman charged, “You like to talk about Donald Trump all the time because you don’t want to talk about your record. Because it’s a record of misery and failure,” according to WNYW-TV.
Trump’s name was mentioned 42 times during the one-hour debate, according to the news outlet.
New York Republican comptroller candidate Joseph Hernandez noted that Hochul accounted for almost all of those mentions.
I counted every word from last night’s governor’s debate.
“Trump” – 41 times
“Budget” – 3 times
“Affordability” – 2 times@KathyHochul kept bringing up Trump because she can’t defend her own record.
@NassauExec Bruce Blakeman pointed out what she won’t talk about:
– Utility rates raised 48 times on her watch
– The highest taxes in America
– Billions spent on migrants while New Yorkers struggle
– Cashless bail that has shampoo locked behind glass
– Nurses, railroad workers and corrections officers pushed to strike
– Medicaid alone has grown by roughly $21 billion across her five budgets.
New York can’t afford four more years.
— Joseph Hernandez (@hernandezforny) October 14, 2026
Regarding immigration enforcement under Trump, Hochul asserted that Blakeman is fine with ICE agents shooting into cars even if young children are present, referencing an arrest last week in Manhattan of an illegal immigrant with a rap sheet that includes assault, drug, and robbery charges.
“He says, ‘That’s okay, that’s how ICE is supposed to do it,’” the governor said, referring to Blakeman.
“ICE is out of control. It’s out of control in Nassau County,” she added.
Blakeman responded that “it never would have happened” but for Hochul’s “sanctuary policy.”
“You have invited criminals to come into our state and prey on our communities. And now you won’t let local law enforcement cooperate with ICE in an orderly way,” he said.
“We didn’t have any incidents in my county because we were allowed to cooperate with local law enforcement. But you took that tool away. The reason why that happened is because of you, Kathy Hochul, and your immigration policies, where you actually invite people into our state, give them free everything, and you don’t care whether they’re criminals or not. That’s a bad policy,” Blakeman added.
WOW: Republican NY gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman MIC DROPS far-left radical Gov. Kathy Hochul for protecting dangerous illegal aliens who put Americans in harm’s way for NO REASON.
Kathy Hochul: “ ICE is out of control. It’s out of control.”
Bruce Blakeman: “It never would have happened but for your sanctuary policy. You have invited criminals to come into our state and prey on our communities.”
“And now you won’t let local law enforcement cooperate with ICE in
an orderly way.”Utter madness!
— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) October 14, 2026
Blakeman later argued, “You say you spent $4 billion on law enforcement. Well, you spent $8 billion on illegal migrants and gave them more benefits than New Yorkers get. How does that make any sense?”
.@NassauExec Bruce Blakeman: “I back law enforcement…[Kathy Hochul] spent $8 BILLION on illegal migrants and gave them more benefits than New Yorkers.” https://t.co/nhmcMnLtrk
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 13, 2026
Former Secretary of State and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton tried to make the 2016 presidential race all about Trump because she didn’t want to run on her record.
Hochul is clearly pulling from the same playbook in her race against Blakeman.
Let’s hope it has the same results for Hochul as it did for Hillary.
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