On August 12th, New York Governor Kathy Hochul visited the Islamic Cultural Center of New York in Manhattan. She wore a black hijab over her head, addressed a room that appeared to be mostly men, and thanked her host: "I want to thank His Excellency, Mr. Albanai, to thank him for welcoming me, making me feel part of the family."
September 11th, 2026, is twelve days away. It will be the 25th anniversary.
The video of Hochul's racked up roughly 7 million views in less than 24 hours. Conservative commentator Graham Allen put it plainly: "We are just TWELVE DAYS out till the 25th anniversary of 9/11, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul is wearing a hijab. SHAME ON HER."
This isn't even the first time. In July 2025, Hochul wore a hijab to the funeral of slain NYPD Detective Didarul Islam and called it "basic decency." A funeral for a fallen officer is one thing. A political event at an Islamic center less than two weeks before the biggest 9/11 milestone in a generation is something else entirely.
Hochul has stated her goal is "uplifting Muslim communities across our state" and working to "ensure every Muslim New Yorker is seen, heard, and respected." Fox News host Riley Gaines offered a different read: "A self-described feminist voluntarily wearing a hijab to not offend/arouse Muslim men. Oh, the irony."
Watch the video of Gov. Hochul for yourself here
Matt Van Swol, a conservative influencer, posted three words that landed harder than any paragraph could: "New York forgot."
New York has not forgotten. The Port Authority Retired Police Association certainly hasn't. Its president, John McDevitt, sent a letter asking both Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to stay away from the upcoming 9/11 ceremony. McDevitt wrote that "your decision to utilize the WTC for this purpose was extremely tone-deaf, insensitive, and an affront to us, our families."
The retired officers who pulled bodies from the rubble are telling the governor of New York she isn't welcome at Ground Zero. That sentence should stop everyone cold.
U.S. Representative Brandon Gill of Texas and Senator Ted Cruz both weighed in with criticism. Hochul's spokesperson responded that the governor "has enormous respect for all the families who lost loved ones on 9/11, which is why she will proudly stand alongside them at this year's commemoration." The families, through McDevitt, have made clear they'd prefer she didn't.
This isn't about whether a governor can visit a mosque. Of course she can. It's about whether the governor of the state that lost nearly 3,000 people on a single morning has the judgment to understand what it looks like when she covers her head for a political photo op less than two weeks before the 25th anniversary of that morning.
When the people who dug through the pile are asking you not to come to the memorial, the problem isn't their sensitivity. It's your judgment.
