Hochul flamed for asking people to stop ‘leaving’ New York after telling Republicans to ‘get out’ months prior

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Critics of Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., slammed the politician for admitting that her government must "reverse the trend of people leaving our state" on Sunday after she told Republican lawmakers in the state to beat it to Florida last year.

During a January 1 inaugural address following her November re-election, the governor vowed to make New York a better and safer place to live, acknowledging the fact that many New Yorkers have fled the state for other parts of the country in the past year. 

Local CBS anchor Anne McCloy tweeted about the telling moment in Hochul’s address, stating, "In a perhaps unexpected acknowledgment, @GovKathyHochul says New York State ‘must reverse the trend of people leaving our state.’"

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NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - 2022/11/23: Governor Kathy Hochul speaks before signing bills targeting hatred and intolerance, new education initiatives for people convicted of committing hate crimes. The governor signed two bills. The first would make it mandatory for those convicted of a hate crime in New York State to undergo sensitivity training. The second would establish educational opportunities to teach about diversity, equity, and inclusion.  (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

McCloy also noted in the same post that "New York State saw the greatest population decline of any state in the last year according to the most recent U.S. Census data."

The governor’s statement came several months after she told prominent Republicans to "get out" of New York. 

In August, during her gubernatorial campaign against Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., Hochul lambasted her opponent and his Republican allies, stating, "We're here to say that the era of Trump and Zeldin and Molinaro – just jump on a bus and head down to Florida where you belong. Get out of town."

Conservatives were outraged by the statement at the time, accusing the governor of "flat out attacking not just GOP politicians, but GOP voters." Though Hochul insisted the comments were specifically directed at Zeldin, Trump and Molinaro, not voters. 

Conservatives blasted Hochul’s inaugural wish to get people back to New York considering her previous comments. 

On Twitter, reporter Jim Stinson reminded Hochul, "If you tell people to leave, they will. If you over-regulate them and overtax them, they will leave faster."

The RNC’s Jake Schneider tweeted, "Woman who told Republicans to ‘jump on a bus and head down to Florida’ shocked they listened."

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Gov. Hochul visits Puerto Rican school children while on a recent trip to the territory. (Screenshot/Twitter)

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., deputy press secretary Jeremy Redfern asked, "Didn’t she recently tell people that’s if they don’t vote for her then they should just move to Florida?"

Conservative radio host Michael Berry said, "They all moved to Florida. People voted with their feet.  The policies of @GovRonDeSantis created a safer, freer & better place to live. When self-described ‘NYC snob’ moved out, they should have just turned out the lights.  It’s all about policy."

Retired U.S. diplomat Alberto Miguel Fernandez summed up Hochul’s problem, tweeting, "New York State missing the citizens that have fled and the future citizens that have been killed in the womb."

Rep. Lee Zeldin himself slammed his former gubernatorial opponent in a tweet, writing, "Here’s a great place for Hochul to start: Stop telling people to get on a bus and move to Florida if they disagree with your views."

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 26: New York Governor Kathy Hochul campaigns for the upcoming New York gubernatorial election on October 26, 2022 at a senior center in Brooklyn, New York.  (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

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And National Review national affairs reporter John Fund remarked that Hochul missed her window to solve her state’s crisis. He tweeted, "This is so late, it basically counts as never...."