Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Blakeman roasted Gov. Kathy Hochul for praising Manhattan’s top prosecutor and saying he might one day take federal office — but she doubled down on her support.
Hochul shouted out District Attorney Alvin Bragg during an address Sunday in Harlem’s Abyssinian Church and said he could one day become US attorney general after she accidentally referred to him as AG instead of DA.
Blakeman, an ally of President Trump who’s serving as Nassau County executive, said Hochul applauded the “most soft-on-crime DA in the state.”
“Under Alvin Bragg, violent offenders get charges knocked down. Repeat criminals walk free,” Blakeman told The Post of the DA, who prosecuted Trump in a “hush money” case in New York that eventually saw the president convicted.
“Career criminals with long rap sheets are back on the street within hours, and too often, back in front of a judge for the next crime,” Blakeman said. “Hochul is not only celebrating him — she is taking responsibility as Bragg’s partner in this ‘Criminals First’ approach.”
Bragg, a former federal prosecutor, was easily reelected to a second term last November.
But his tenure opened with instant backlash over an infamous “Day One” memo that instructed staff to avoid seeking prison time for some crimes and advised to downgrade felony charges in some cases – like armed robberies.
He got tagged by critics as soft on crime.
But Blakeman fell short of Republican Lee Zeldin, who unsuccessfully ran against Hochul in 2022 and had pledged to fire Bragg if elected.
“There are measures that I would take incrementally to ensure that District Attorneys follow the law,” Blakeman said. “Removal is a drastic measure that I would use as a last resort to any prosecutor that failed to uphold the law.”
The Republican said he stands with law enforcement to “make sure families in New York can feel safe again.”
Hochul, during her address, had recognized Bragg in the audience.
“We also have another fighter to keep people safe and that is our attorney general,” Hochul said, before correcting herself.
“I’m sorry, our District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Who knows, maybe he’ll be an attorney general someday too, change the occupant of the White House.”
She continued to praise Bragg during the church service.
“But I’m not here to get political, you know what I’m saying. But he [Bragg’s] been a great partner in bringing ideas to us in the legislature and myself on how to make our streets safer and they are safer,” Hochul said.
Bragg and Hochul’s administration worked together this year to develop two proposals in her State of the State, one aiming to reduce costs and delays in grand jury proceedings and a second to crack down on 3d-printed firearms. The two sides also worked on an expanded definition of hate crimes and other law enforcement initiatives.
“Crime is down to record lows, particularly here in Manhattan, and I give him so much of the credit,” the governor said in her remarks.
The Hochul campaign said Tuesday Blakeman should look in the mirror.
“Bruce Blakeman’s failed record on public safety speaks for itself – he withheld funding from local law enforcement and let violent crime in Nassau spike to its highest level in ten years on his watch,” Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said.
“He said he’ll never disagree with the convicted felon in the White House who tried to defund the NYPD by $187 million, and he’ll never stand up for New Yorkers’ safety,” the Hochul rep added.
Bragg faced scrutiny in other high profile cases, aside from prosecuting Trump for business fraud.
He made waves when he charged deli clerk Jose Alba with manslaughter after the bodega clerk claimed he was defending himself against a violent shoplifter — and the DA dropped the case amid the backlash.
The DA also prosecuted subway vigilante Daniel Penny in the chokehold death of homeless man Jordan Neely — but a jury ultimately acquitted the Marine veteran of criminally negligent homicide.
