Governor Hochul is a Guest on MSNBC's “Morning Joe”

Earlier today, Governor Hochul was a Guest on MSNBC's “Morning Joe.”

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Willie Geist, MSNBC: Joining us now here in Studio New York's Democratic Governor, Kathy Hochul. Governor, great to see you as always.

Governor Hochul: Thank you. Thank you.

Willie Geist, MSNBC: A lot to talk to you about. Let's talk, first, about the mayoral race that we've been discussing already this morning. Zohran Mamdani is leading the polls right now, but former Governor Andrew Cuomo says “I'm staying in.” You've got the current mayor Eric Adams in the race as well. We were talking as you sat down, you said, “It is my job to make it work whoever the mayor of New York City is, I can work with whoever wins this race.”

Governor Hochul: That is a true statement. I have no choice, and what people fail to realize — what they will next year perhaps — is that the Governor has enormous power over all of our cities. And, for example, a couple days ago I had to sign legislation to allow the City of New York to put cameras in speed zones near schools. Now, one would think that's something the local government handles, but the way it's been structured since the 1970s when a lot of power was given because of the meltdown, the fiscal crisis here — Albany has extraordinary power over the city.

I can work with whomever the voters want me to work with. I will never harm the City of New York. I won't hold money hostage and make people suffer as has been practiced in the past. But people have to understand that I'm going to make sure that we have a climate where businesses can thrive. They create jobs, they give us the revenues I need to be able to have very generous social safety net programs. We'll keep it all together, but this is going to be an election for the ages. A little unprecedented to have all the attention in November. It's usually settled in June so we'll be watching closely.

Willie Geist, MSNBC: Mamdani met with a group of business leaders here in New York yesterday, expressed some of their concerns about his policy proposals, that he's a democratic socialist, that he might not have the best interest of New York City's business community in mind. Do you share any of those concerns?

Governor Hochul: I actually raised many of those concerns with him directly. I said, “You have a lot of healing to do with the Jewish community. Many of your words have been hurtful and hateful to people in their interpretation of it.” So job number one is to straighten that relationship out if you can, and to get them to understand that if you become the mayor, we don't know the outcome, but if you become the mayor, that you'll be a mayor for everyone.” And no one should have to worry about being in the city and feeling less safe because of who the mayor is and their religious beliefs. So that was important. I raised that concern.

The other one is the business community. Now, everyone that was having a hair on fire moment, and I said, “Let's just calm it all down.” I've spoken to hundreds of business leaders saying, “Listen, nothing is going to happen to this city without me being aware of it and involved in it. So don't talk about packing up and leaving.” — and all these other, overreactions, we're going to be okay no matter what happens.

And so I've had to do a lot of — I've become the therapist in chief it seems. I’m saying to everybody, “We're going to be okay.” Maybe it's the mom in me, I know how to calm down situations and we'll get through this. Don't panic, everybody. Let the process play out. Let the voters decide and then we'll deal with it. But I did raise those same concerns, and they need to be addressed.

Reverend Al Sharpton: Governor, we've seen some of this before with Bill de Blasio. People said he was a socialist. He never said himself that he was, but they said it. He was elected and reelected. But does it concern you that not only dealing with the questions about Mamdani, who I think has addressed some of these concerns and still evolving, that his opponents come with baggage?

We're almost forgetting that, you have the former Governor who has a lot of concerns and you have the Mayor who people are concerned about his relationship with President Trump. So there's baggage there that you've got to balance.

And the second part is that they're going to try and demonize whoever is the elected mayor because they're really trying to get their guns loaded to come after you and Attorney General Tish James next year. And isn't a lot of this trying to be over the top with Mamdani and others to try and act like the whole Democratic Party, and therefore Kathy Hochul and Tish James shouldn't be elected next year. Isn't a lot of that a concern, or should that be a concern of yours?

Governor Hochul: I don't worry about those things. That is down the road. I suspect there are people conspiring against me for next year. Whether it's Republicans — it goes with the turf. I can handle this. It's my 16th election. I know how to do this. And I always say bring it on. Bring it on.

But my point is also that, as you mentioned about Bill de Blasio, he did freeze the rent three times himself. That's it's not something brand new and radical to do that. People are suffering in this city, and I think Mamdani tapped into something that is real and visceral like I'm not getting ahead. I'm working hard. I'm doing the best I can and I'm not living the American Dream and everything is so expensive. So, I am aligned with the issue of raising people's living, income, making sure that people have houses. That's the most expensive cost for any family is their rent bill and the utility bills associated with that.

So, I'm aggressively trying to build more housing. I want partners who will do that with me and break down all the barriers of people who just say, “Not in my backyard.” I'm sorry, you want to live in a big city –- there are going to people in your backyard. And we have to be more expansive in this.

And what I've done is put $5,000 back in families’ pockets with my Budget. So, trying to offset some of this feeling of anxiety that people aren't listening to me. So, we're doing what we can, but then again, we have to deal with everything going up because of the tariffs. Let's talk about that. We have inflation that drove up the cost of everything. Families can't get their head above water. And now we have the Trump tariff taxes --- raising the cost of everything, a pair of sneakers for a child this fall, and their mom's going to have to pony up more than 44 percent more than last year to buy a pair of sneakers. This is hard on families. I'm focused on this. Affordability is not something that I just woke up to. It's something I've been fighting for years and we're making a real difference for people, but they just feel like they're not getting ahead and I understand that.

Jonathan Lemire, MSNBC: Governor, you mentioned President Trump's tariff policy. Let's also turn to the one “Big Beautiful Bill.” Now, law of the land, and talk to us about the way the budget cuts are going to impact New York State particularly, and people think of New York State as New York City, but as we well know it, it extends far beyond that.

There are a lot of rural areas and I know there's real concern about both Medicaid and rural health care.

Governor Hochul: Absolutely. I was just up in Elise Stefanik’s district in the North Country, which is getting hammered, first of all the tariffs because the Canadians are not coming over. They're not spending money in the hotels and restaurants. The tourism economy is suffering. Then you have the farm community, the farmers, Republican farmers, don't know why their own elected officials voted against their interests with higher costs because of tariffs, closing out markets to them that they had always counted on the cost of even steel or the shavings that go in the stalls for their cows is more expensive because they got it from Canada. So, you have all that. But then to tell them that you are at risk of losing five of your rural hospitals in this one congressional district. That is real. I had a forum up there. I had 400 people — standing room only. Farmers, people in tourism, the small businesses, people in health care hospitals, they're in a panic.

And this is what I want to point out all across the state, seven members of the Republican party elected in this state voted against the interest of their own constituents. How do you do that and think you're going to get away with it? Oh, you'll push back the pain until 2027. Guess what? We're going to remind everybody what you did to them, and it's going to have an effect on your 2026 election, and that's how Hakeem Jeffries will become the next Speaker to try and undo the pain that you're talking about.

We'll lose 67,000 health care jobs, $8 billion hit to our hospitals and health care providers. The State of New York will have enormous challenges heading into next year, and in fact, this year we have to make up $750 million that they just took away this year alone. So, we're fighting back, but it'd be really nice if we had some, I'm not even asking for real profiles and courage. Just don't vote against your own constituents. It's that simple.

Willie Geist, MSNBC: So, Governor, when five rural hospitals close in a single district, and you're talking about losing almost a billion dollars in funding for that kind of thing, what do you do? What does the State of New York do? What does a county do? How do you make up for the fact that this is where my doctor is? Now that hospital's closed, I've got to drive far, my Medicaid reimbursements aren't coming in. How do you as a state try to bridge that gap?

Governor Hochul: We're looking at that right now, and it is a shame that – what Washington has done – Republicans in Washington have done will now have an impact on our ability to provide services here in the State of New York. We already spend an enormous amount of money taking care of people's health care and education and childcare and nutrition programs, but we count on the federal government to be a partner in this, and when they pull out their share going to cost us so much more to do this. There's not a state in this nation that can completely backfill all the cuts that they have now unleashed on us. It is not possible. So, we'll have to figure it out with my team. I'm getting together with my cabinet this week. We have to make up $750 million right now. I'm saying, “Go back to your agencies, find some cuts, find out what we can save some money.” Next year, I have a $3 billion cut. We'll get together with the Legislature, try to work it out, but this is grotesquely unfair, not just to the states, but to the people we serve. And they need to wear this. So this is gonna be a drumbeat. We're not stopping because it didn't have to be this way. You actually can vote against what your president tells you sometimes. It might be politically smart for you in a place like New York but they didn't do that. I lost my seat in Congress, representing the most rural district, the most Republican district in New York, because I refused to vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act. I knew those people in those rural areas that I represented myself would suffer from this, even though they threw me out of office because I stood up for them. But every once in a while you have to do the right thing — and they had the opportunity and they blew it.

Willie Geist, MSNBC: They blew it and it's devastating to a lot of people. I want to ask you finally governor about something that's exciting to a lot of parents that's about to happen this fall. This school year which is a statewide ban in New York public schools on cell phones for kids. This has been an issue that parents and kids and schools and politicians have debated. You got the state to this place of, we're talking bell to bell, you say, right? You check it in the morning, you get it back at the end of the day. How hard was it to get this over the line and how exactly will it work?

Governor Hochul: It was very difficult. It took a year of me doing round tables with parents and students and administrators and superintendents, and there was a sense of Albany can't tell us what to do. Then I said, “Then do it yourself. You know it’s better for the kids, superintendent and school boards. Do it yourselves.” Well, the parents will be upset. So, I said, “Listen, I'll be the heavy. I'm a mom. I'm used to taking the blame, right? So let me wear this. Let's do it, and let's get this done as soon as possible, starting this fall.” So, all I want to do is give our kids their freedom back, not being addicted to this device all day long. They're watching TikTok dance videos instead of listening to the math teacher

And it's affecting their academic performance, but also they're not developing into fully functioning adults emerging as 18 year olds anymore because they're not used to communicating. They don't make eye contact; they don't talk to each other. So this is going to change the quality of life for our kids — and hopefully help their mental health because we have a severe mental health crisis right now with teenagers. I can't tell you how many days a week I hear from a parent who says, “my child is so depressed, they're contemplating suicide. I'm so glad you're taking the cell phones out of their hand because that's where it started.” So I think other states should do this. It takes guts, you have to stand up, but I will do anything to protect your kids as if they're my own.

Willie Geist, MSNBC: And one of the arguments against it is safety. If there's a school shooting, then the kids need to be able to call their parents or call 911 or whatever it is, or if there's some other emergency in the school — but you heard something interesting from law enforcement on that.

Governor Hochul: This is what changed my perspective completely and I'm a mom who sent her kids to school during Columbine — and that fear of what happens when you send your child off to school and something horrific happens. We've had so many school shootings, but when law enforcement told me that if there is an active shooter in the building, the last thing you want is for your child to have their cell phone.

First of all, it rings, they're identified, or they start videoing or sending text messages, and they're not paying attention to the trained professional in the front of the room – their teacher, their teachers go through constant drills. So sheriffs and police officers and district attorneys worked with me to try and persuade the parents.

As hard as it is to give that connection up with your child, it is better for them in a crisis like that. So that's what we need to lean into and say your child is safer not having the phone, and they'll be more well adjusted. They'll be happier, they'll have more friends in person. One young girl told me, I said, “why can't you just put it down?” She said, “You have to save us from ourselves. We can't put this down. We need you to do it.” That's all I needed to hear. And we got it done.

Willie Geist, MSNBC: And so is it in the morning, it goes into a Ziploc bag or what? How does it work?

Governor Hochul: Every school can do it their own way — I'll be in the Bronx today with the school superintendent, and they're going to have these pouches called yonder pouches. They zip them up all day. Any school can do it the way they want. If you want to have a rack in the back of the classroom, but they cannot have it on them because the temptation is too great. When they get 250 notifications a day — kids do. We tracked this last year, we had a really strict nation leading ban on addictive algorithms from social media companies going after our kids. That was a big step last year, and I encourage the federal government to take a look at this. We've got to save our kids. They're crying for help. We're the adults, it's our job.

Willie Geist, MSNBC: I think a lot of people around the country will be watching New York to see how this goes, and I think a lot of parents are grateful that you took that step.

New York State's Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, Governor thank you as always.

Governor Hochul: Thank you. Great to see all of you