MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle clashes with Gov. Kathy Hochul over crime in New York: 'We don't feel safe'

MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle pressed Gov. Kathy Hochul on crime and her plans to address it in New York City during an appearance on MSNBC on Friday, insisting New Yorkers don't feel safe.

After Hochul touted getting guns off the streets in New York and her partnership with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Ruhle interrupted and emphasized that people do not feel good about crime in New York.

"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. So you may have done these things, but right now, we’re not feeling good. Where worried we could be San Francisco," Ruhle said. 

Hochul argued that New York City would never become San Francisco and said homicides and shootings have gone down "dramatically" from 2021. Hochul also said crime was an issue across the U.S. 

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"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," Ruhle said. 

Hochul said she understood these concerns and that she took the subway that 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 previously suggested voter concerns about crime and safety in certain states were part of a GOP "conspiracy."

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"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. 

She said Democratic cities and states were "safer."

Her Republican opponent, Lee Zeldin, has made crime the focus of his gubernatorial campaign. 

Zeldin tweeted a picture of the front page of the New York Post on Friday, which showed a homeless man with 25 prior arrests was accused of raping a jogger in New York City's West Village, and said told his followers to "vote like your life depends on it." 

Dem Poll Worker Accused Of Pre-Selecting Democratic Candidates, Pressuring Voters To Cast Ballots For Specific Candidates

Indiana election officials removed a Democrat poll worker last week for allegedly pre-selecting Democratic candidates and pressuring citizens to vote for specific candidates.

Beth Sheller, an election administrator for Hamilton County, told Fox News Digital that an inspector report allegedly identified two separate incidents at a polling location in Carmel, Indiana. The incidents may constitute electioneering and election interference by a poll worker named James Zheng.

Zheng has been accused of telling black voters “… not to vote for the racist candidates outside,” according to Chalkboard Review, where officials first identified the accused poll worker.

According to the report, the first incident happened on Thursday evening after the poll worker told a pair of black voters not to vote for pro-parent school board candidates, alleging they were “racist” after encountering a group of education activists outside the polling station.

After casting their ballots, the pair of voters explained their interaction with the poll worker to the activists, who then approached the worker about the issue.

The second incident involved potential election interference, according to the inspector report.

Chalkboard Review reports Sheller confirmed that Zheng allegedly pre-selected a straight-Democrat ticket for a voter under the guise of “explaining the voting machines.”

Several voters accused Zheng to their local election judges of using the same tactic on their ballots, some of whom “didn’t know how to change it back.”

In a press release obtained by Chalkboard Review, Mario Massillaman, GOP chairman in Hamilton County, said that the election administrator removed Zheng from working at the early voting site and prevented him from returning to the station on Friday and Monday.

“This should serve as a cautionary reminder that those desperate to hold onto power or gain power will do anything – including breaking the law – to thwart the efforts of parents and taxpayers to replace our school boards with officials who more accurately reflect the values of our community,” Massillaman said. “If you see something suspicious, please report such activity immediately to a poll worker or other election official immediately.”

Fox News reports Dayna Colbert, Hamilton County Democrats chair, was contacted to provide a replacement poll worker.

Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office has reportedly begun investigating the accusations.

Sheller told Chalkboard Review that she hopes to see Zheng prosecuted for both aspects of misconduct and would ensure with a bipartisan team of judges and election officials that sure “no electioneering” signs and limits were posted at that location before polls opened.

“I have never seen anything like this,” she said.

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