BS BULLETIN:
- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wore a black hijab while addressing an audience at an Islamic Cultural Center event Friday — and video of the appearance went wildly viral Sunday.
- Spencer Pratt delivered perhaps the shortest review: “Feminist icon, Kathy Hochul. Slay, kween!”
- Rep. Brandon Gill, Riley Gaines, Rob Schmitt and the New York Young Republican Club piled on, with critics hammering Hochul over the contrast between her self-described feminism and the head covering.
Kathy Hochul just spent days fighting President Trump over what to call a lake.
Now she’s got a whole different wardrobe problem.
Video of New York’s Democratic governor wearing a black hijab while speaking at an Islamic Cultural Center event Friday blew up on X Sunday, with one viral post from End Wokeness topping 4 million views by Sunday afternoon.
And the roasting commenced.
Former reality-TV star and recent Republican Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt posted a photo of Hochul with two lines:
“Feminist icon, Kathy Hochul.
“Slay, kween!”
Rep. Brandon Gill went straight for the political contradiction.
“Democrats: ‘Sexist Republicans are turning America into the Handmaid’s Tale!’” Gill wrote on X.
“Also Democrats:” he added, alongside the Hochul image.
That became the dominant theme of the backlash because Hochul has publicly described herself as a feminist. In a 2023 interview, she said she “very much” identified with the label and spoke about experiencing struggles because she is a woman.
Riley Gaines called the scene ironic, describing Hochul as a “self-described feminist voluntarily wearing a hijab.”
Newsmax host Rob Schmitt was considerably less delicate, sarcastically congratulating Hochul for covering her hair and accused her of subjugating herself to men.
Then came the New York Young Republican Club, which declared that Hochul was “being her typical self: bowing to the third world.”
The timing added another combustible ingredient.
The viral eruption comes less than two weeks before the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, prompting some critics to invoke 9/11 while attacking the governor. Others pushed back that al-Qaeda committed the attacks and that treating Muslims generally as responsible is an unjustified conflation.
There is also some context worth keeping straight: wearing a head covering while visiting an Islamic institution is hardly unprecedented for American political figures, and Hochul has worn one at Muslim events before.
But context has never been much of a fire extinguisher on X.
And after Hochul’s very public battle with Trump over “Lake America” last week, New York’s governor has once again managed to become the star of the conservative internet — this time without a Great Lake anywhere in sight.
MY QUICK TAKE
There’s respecting somebody else’s religion, and then there’s handing the internet a photograph it was genetically engineered to meme.
For a politician who proudly calls herself a feminist, Hochul had to know exactly what critics were going to do with this image.
Apparently Spencer Pratt did.
“Slay, kween” may be the entire Monday morning editorial.
DBS WIRE SOURCES
- Mediaite — Spencer Pratt and MAGA Slam NY Gov Kathy Hochul for Sporting Hijab at Islamic Center: ‘Bowing to the Third World’
- The Gateway Pundit — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Dons Hijab While Speaking to Group of Muslim Men
- The South Shore Press — HIJAB HOCHUL: Governor’s Headscarf Ignites Backlash
- The Nerd Stash — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Faced Criticism Over Support for Muslim Community
- Islamic Cultural Center School — Official site
