Michael Goodwin: Don’t be fooled by Hochul’s act — she’s just as radical as Mamdani

Nypost · Aug 22, 2026 · 1085 words · By Michael Goodwin

Fiscal Irresponsibility Media Bias Political Hypocrisy

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What to know about Fiscal Irresponsibility

New Yorkers who pay close attention to such things have long understood why Gov.

Claims checked 12

Techniques found 5

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

New Yorkers who pay close attention to such things have long understood why Gov.

Why it matters

Hochul deserves her reputation for being the Waffler-In-Chief.

Common ground

Time and again, she’s revealed herself to be the consummate weather vane, shifting her stance on important matters depending on which way the wind is blowing.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling, Black-and-White Fallacy: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Fiscal Irresponsibility story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that She has actively encouraged and even helped to fund his explosion of free this and free that by sending him billions in state taxpayer funds?
How does this story connect Fiscal Irresponsibility with Media Bias over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/22/opinion/michael-goodwin-dont-be-fooled-by-hochuls-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 5 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

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Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Name Calling / Labeling 100% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Black-and-White Fallacy 70% confidence

Presenting only two options when more exist.

Why it matters: Recognizing black-and-white fallacy helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Doubt 80% confidence

Questioning the credibility of a source or claim without providing evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing doubt helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Exaggeration / Hyperbole 80% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4

schedule Pending 2

info Single Source 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified 1

cancel Disputed 1

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Claim 1: “She has actively encouraged and even helped to fund his explosion of free this and free that by sending him billions in state taxpayer funds.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources report that Hochul provided billions in state funds to help the city budget (which Mamdani oversees as mayor), and political mailers explicitly accuse her of using taxpayer dollars to fund his agenda.

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web search NEUTRAL — Say No to Hochul and Mamdani,” said a Blakeman campaign/state-Republican Party mailer sent to suburban households in Westchester County. The mailer accuses Hochul of using state taxpayer dollars to im…
https://nypost.com/2026/09/17/us-news/bruce-blakeman-ties-ho…

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web search NEUTRAL — Kathy Hochul both provided billions of dollars in additional funds…and delayed a costly mandate for the city to reduce class sizes," Greg David writes at The City. "Much of the money is short-term.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/mamdani-balanced-york-ci…

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web search NEUTRAL — How would Hochul, who has consistently refused to raise any taxes, react to Mamdani's core campaign promises that require billions of dollars in state funding—making MTA buses fast and free, and provi…
https://hellgatenyc.com/governor-hochul-joins-the-mamdanissa…

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Claim 2: “Her flip-flop came less than a month later, when she revealed that she supported the pied-à-terre tax.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 3: “the pied-à-terre tax Hochul shepherded through the Legislature.”

VERIFIED

Evidence explicitly states that Governor Hochul introduced the pied-à-terre tax proposal on April 15 and signed the budget containing the measure into law.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2022 New York gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022 to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of New York. In August 2021, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul ascended to the governorship a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_New_York_gubernatorial_el…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 New York gubernatorial election is scheduled to take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of New York. Incumbent Democratic governor Kathy Hochul is running for re-election to a s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_New_York_gubernatorial_el…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kathleen Mary Hochul ( HOH-kəl; née Courtney; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer who has served since 2021 as the 57th governor of New York. A member of the Democratic Party, s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Hochul

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 4: “She claims to have secretly told the mayor, “There’s a better way to do it” and suggested he single out “Saudi Princes and Russian oligarchs” as more fitting targets.”

SINGLE SOURCE

Evidence confirms a conflict over the pied-à-terre tax involving Ken Griffin and Mamdani, but the specific claim that Hochul suggested targeting 'Saudi Princes and Russian oligarchs' is not corroborated by multiple independent sources.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of events of the year 2025 in the United States. Following his election victory in November 2024, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States and be…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_in_the_United_States

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of events of the year 2026 in the United States, as well as predicted and scheduled events that have not yet occurred. July 4, 2026 was the 250th anniversary of the signing of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in_the_United_States

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web search NEUTRAL — Kathy Hochul claimed she’s against the “tax the rich” crusade that’s a rallying cry for Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his socialist cronies — even though she did push through a new tax on luxury second hom…
https://nypost.com/2026/07/15/us-news/hochul-says-shes-again…

+ 2 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “It quotes her as saying she privately scolded Mamdani several times, including after his latest round of attacks on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While sources confirm Hochul endorsed Mamdani in a NYT op-ed, the specific detail about her 'privately scolding' him regarding Benjamin Netanyahu is not corroborated by other independent news sources in the provided evidence.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York, the head of the executive branch of New York's state government, and the commander-in-chief of the state's military fo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_governors_of_New_York

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+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 6: “She loudly opposed congestion pricing before an election, but imposed it as soon as the votes were counted”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the timing of Hochul's opposition or implementation of congestion pricing relative to an election.

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Claim 7: “Mamdani got 1.1 million votes in the city’s general election”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm Mamdani won over one million votes in the mayoral election, with one source specifically noting he was the first since 1969 to do so.

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web search NEUTRAL — New York City Democrats.[133] The endorsement was also seen as the culmination of weeks of campaigning by Cuomo to eat into Sliwa's voter base in order to close the gap with Mamdani, and was generally…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_New_York_City_mayoral_ele…

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web search NEUTRAL — He was the first candidate since John V. Lindsay in 1969 to win over one million votes in a mayoral election in the five boroughs. (Overall turnout that year, 2,458,203 people, still slightly topped T…
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11/04/nyregion/nyc-mayor-e…

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web search NEUTRAL — Mamdani will become the city’s first Muslim mayor when he takes office in January. In recent months he has made a point of vocally denouncing antisemitism – as well as the Islamophobia he has suffered…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2025/nov/04/nyc-may…

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Claim 8: “Recall that she was the only top Dem in New York to endorse Mamdani in both the party primary and the general election last year.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm Governor Hochul endorsed Zohran Mamdani's mayoral bid, including a New York Times op-ed. One source explicitly mentions she was the only top Democrat to endorse him in both the primary and general elections.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 9: “One result is that state spending under Hochul has rocketed upward by about 30% since she took office five years ago.”

DISPUTED

While one source (Yonkers Times) claims state government spending increased by $81 billion in the last five years, other sources do not provide a percentage increase of 30%. Furthermore, Wikipedia confirms she took office in August 2021, meaning she has been in office for roughly 3.5 to 4 years, not five.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 10: “She would soon estimate it could yield $500 million a year for the city”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 11: ““The governor said that she had ‘no intention’ of raising taxes or implementing new ones in the coming year, but indicated that could change if there were unforeseen cuts in federal aid to New York.””

CORROBORATED

Two independent sources quote the governor as saying she had 'no intention' of raising taxes unless there were unforeseen cuts in federal aid.

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web search NEUTRAL — The governor said that she had “no intention” of raising taxes or implementing new ones in the coming year, but indicated that could change if there were additional unforeseen cuts in federal aid to N…
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/20/nyregion/hochul-mamdani-i…

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web search NEUTRAL — “The governor said that she had ‘no intention’ of raising taxes or implementing new ones in the coming year, but indicated that could change if there were unforeseen cuts in federal aid to New York.”
https://nypost.com/2026/08/22/opinion/michael-goodwin-dont-b…

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web search NEUTRAL — Kathy Hochul is undeniably well positioned. The governor, a Democrat, has a $20 million war chest and the wind at her back in a state where her party’s registered voters outnumber Republicans two to o…
https://dnyuz.com/2026/08/24/gov-kathy-hochul-five-years-in-…

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Claim 12: “last March, she firmly rejected the huge income tax hikes that Mamdani and the lefty Legislature wanted to impose on affluent families and corporations in the city.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the rejection of specific income tax hikes in March.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.