New York Governor Kathy Hochul is facing backlash after telling a predominantly Black congregation not to spend their upcoming inflation rebate checks at liquor stores—a remark that critics say plays into harmful racial stereotypes.
Speaking at True Bethel Baptist Church in Buffalo, Hochul said, “Checks are coming out soon, watch the mail. Okay? Okay? Don’t spend it all in one day. Get something you really need. Okay? Don’t stop by the liquor store. Buy something for the kids. Buy them some food.” She then added, “Sometimes I have to stop by the liquor store too, I understand it’s alright. It’s alright,” prompting mixed reactions from the congregation.
Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, who’s currently challenging Hochul in the Democratic primary, called her comments “racist” and accused her of having a pattern of demeaning the Black community. “Last year she said Black kids in the Bronx didn’t know what a computer was. Now this. That’s a pattern — and it’s racist,” Delgado said.
Rep. Elise Stefanik echoed the criticism, accusing Hochul of condescension and racial insensitivity. “She’s doubling down on a patronizing tone that insults Black families across New York,” Stefanik said.
Tuulikki Robertson, director of The Black Institute, also condemned the remarks, calling them “deeply troubling” and “harmful.”
In response to the backlash, Hochul defended her comments, claiming they were made in jest to a familiar audience: “I was in my hometown at a church I’ve gone to for 20 years. I made a lighthearted joke. I also said I’d be willing to stop by a store. It was not meant to generalize or offend.”
However, she acknowledged in hindsight that her phrasing “was not the best way” to make her point about spending the checks wisely.
Some local leaders came to Hochul’s defense. Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, who attended the church service, said the congregation understood the governor’s intent and that critics were “trying to be divisive for their own political gain.”
Bishop Darius Pridgen, who introduced Hochul at the service, also defended her, saying, “You have to understand the entire context of the service. She definitely wasn’t speaking out of turn.” The sermon that day, he said, was about personal responsibility.
The rebate checks in question are scheduled to be mailed to eligible New Yorkers starting later this month and will continue through November.
The post Kathy Hochul Slammed for Telling Black Churchgoers Not To Spend Refund Checks on Booze appeared first on Real News Now.
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