Hochul says she thought ‘tax the rich’ chant was ‘let’s go Bills’

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said Monday that she initially thought the crowd’s “tax the rich” chant while she spoke at a rally for New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani the day prior was instead a “Let’s go Bills” chant, referencing the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.

“Given the reception you received last night at Zohran’s rally, where people were chanting, ‘tax the rich, tax the rich,’ are you going to hold the line on raising taxes, even if it means losing an endorsement or getting a primary challenge?” a reporter asked Hochul in a video clip posted to social media.

“I couldn’t hear what they were chanting. I thought they were saying, ‘Let’s go Bills,’” Hochul responded. “I wasn’t — I wasn’t sure. When you’re up there — I heard some noise. I heard a lot of cheers. But later on, it became clear to me that there is a — I know there’s a passion for that.”

“I went in there as the leader of the Democratic Party, whose job it is to unify and unify behind the Democratic nominee. I love the energy out there,” she added.

As Hochul began speaking at Mamdani’s rally Sunday, chants of “tax the rich” could be audibly heard.

Hochul formally endorsed Mamdani in September, announcing the endorsement of the Democratic nominee in a New York Times op-ed. 

“The question of who will be the next mayor is one I take extremely seriously and to which I have devoted a great deal of thought,” Hochul wrote in her Times piece. “Tonight I am endorsing Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.”

Mamdani shocked political observers in June with a win over political heavyweight and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor. The 34-year-old democratic socialist is now facing down Cuomo again in the general election, as the former governor makes a third-party bid for the mayor’s office.