New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is facing a fresh wave of criticism after video surfaced showing her wearing a black hijab while addressing a room of Muslim community and religious leaders at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York, just twelve days before the nation marks the twenty fifth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The timing alone has been enough to ignite outrage among conservatives who see the moment as tone-deaf at best.
A video of the appearance, posted to social media on Sunday, shows Hochul standing before what appeared to be a predominantly male audience, dressed in a black suit and white shirt with a black headscarf covering her hair. In the clip, she can be heard thanking the center’s leadership by name, expressing gratitude for being welcomed and made to feel part of the community.
The video was first shared widely by the X account End Wokeness, with the caption pointedly noting that a self-described feminist icon had put on a hijab for an audience of Muslim men. That framing quickly caught fire across conservative social media, with commentators seizing on the apparent contradiction between Hochul’s public feminist branding and her willingness to adopt a religious garment associated with female modesty codes in front of men.
Texas Rep. Brandon Gill was among the first prominent Republicans to weigh in, mocking the double standard he sees in progressive politics. He noted that Democrats routinely accuse Republicans of pushing America toward a Handmaid’s Tale style future for women, yet here was a Democratic governor voluntarily covering her hair for an audience of men at a religious institution.
Fox News host Riley Gaines offered a similarly sharp assessment, pointing to what she described as the irony of a self proclaimed feminist voluntarily wearing a hijab in order to avoid offending or arousing Muslim men. Her comment captured a broader sentiment among critics who argue that Hochul’s actions undercut the very values she claims to champion.
The New York Young Republican Club went even further, accusing the governor of bowing to what it called third world influence and highlighting that the mosque hosting the event was reportedly funded almost entirely by the government of Kuwait. The group framed the visit as evidence of troubling foreign influence over New York’s political leadership, a claim likely to fuel further scrutiny in the days ahead.
Conservative commentator Benny Johnson did not hold back either, describing Hochul as a poster child for what he called suicidal empathy, a pointed jab suggesting the governor’s outreach to Muslim communities reflects a broader pattern of progressive leaders prioritizing multicultural sensitivity over clear eyed judgment, especially so close to a solemn anniversary tied to Islamist terrorism.
This is not the first time Hochul has drawn fire for donning a headscarf in public. In July of last year, she wore one while attending the funeral of Didarul Islam, a Muslim New York Police Department officer who was killed in a mass shooting in Manhattan. That earlier appearance prompted Texas Sen. Ted Cruz to respond with a simple and pointed “Um, wut?” on social media, a reaction that went viral at the time.
Hochul defended her decision after the funeral controversy by saying she wore the headscarf to honor a fallen Muslim officer and to respect a grieving family’s faith, arguing that doing so reflected basic decency and the kind of respect any leader should show. Whether that same justification applies to a political style appearance at an Islamic cultural center less than two weeks before the anniversary of 9/11 is a fair question critics are now asking.
Hochul’s history with the hijab extends even further back. In February of 2024, she publicly celebrated World Hijab Day on social media, posting in praise of women who wear the garment and framing it, in line with progressive orthodoxy, as an expression of feminist choice rather than a symbol many conservatives and even reform minded Muslim women view as rooted in patriarchal religious control.
The Islamic Cultural Center of New York, where Friday’s event took place, described Hochul’s visit simply as an engagement with members of its community. Supporters of the governor have argued that wearing a head covering while visiting a mosque is no different than a visitor covering their head at a synagogue or removing shoes before entering certain religious spaces, framing the choice as basic cultural courtesy rather than political theater.
That defense will likely do little to satisfy critics, particularly given the timing so close to the September 11 anniversary. New York was, of course, ground zero for the deadliest terrorist attack in American history, one carried out by Islamist hijackers who murdered nearly three thousand people. For many New Yorkers who lost loved ones that day, the sight of their governor donning traditional Islamic religious garb so close to that solemn date understandably strikes a nerve.
Conservative commentator Graham Allen summed up the frustration many felt, noting bluntly that with just twelve days remaining before the twenty fifth anniversary of the attacks, New York’s governor chose that exact moment to appear in a hijab before a room of Muslim men. His post, like many others, framed the timing itself as the central offense, regardless of Hochul’s stated intentions.
Hochul is up for reelection this November, and critics have not hesitated to suggest that her outreach to Muslim voters in New York, a substantial and politically active constituency in parts of the state, may be at least partly motivated by electoral considerations rather than pure religious courtesy. Whether that suspicion is fair or not, the political optics certainly invite the interpretation.
It is worth noting that Hochul has built much of her public identity around progressive feminist messaging, frequently invoking women’s rights and gender equality in her public statements and policy priorities. That makes the contrast with her willingness to adopt a modesty garment traditionally worn by women specifically to avoid drawing male attention all the more jarring to her critics, who see a glaring inconsistency in her public persona.
Democratic lawmakers in New York have in the past promoted observances like World Hijab Day as part of broader efforts to combat what they describe as discrimination against Muslim women. Critics counter that such campaigns gloss over the coercive nature of hijab requirements in many parts of the Muslim world, where women face legal or social punishment for refusing to cover their hair, a reality that stands in sharp contrast to the voluntary, celebratory framing pushed by American progressives.
Hochul’s office has not issued a fresh statement specifically addressing the latest wave of criticism as of this writing, though given her past pattern of responding to similar controversies, a public defense of her actions would not be surprising in the coming days.
