After Texas Republican Senator Ted Cuz attacked her in a post on X for her decision to wear a headscarf to the funeral of a fallen Muslim police officer, New York Governor Kathy Hochul shut him down, defending her "basic decency."
Last week, members of the NYPD shouldered the casket of Officer Didarul Islam, who was one of four people killed in a mass shooting in Midtown Manhattan. The gunman, who had intended to attack NFL headquarters, killed himself at the scene.
When social media users circulated a photo of Hochul wearing a headscarf at Islam's funeral, Cruz retweeted the image, captioning it with "Um, wut?" to express his disapproval.
Hochul responded shortly afterward with a succinct response defending her decision to don the headscarf:
"I wore a headscarf to honor a fallen Muslim NYPD officer at his funeral. Respecting a grieving family’s faith is “wut” leaders and anyone with basic decency would do."
You can see her post below.
Cruz followed up with an odd response accusing Hochul of not caring about the rights of women in New York by choosing to wear a headscarf, an Islamophobic dog whistle:
"I agree. You should wear a hijab every day because you are so damn decent. Never mind the rights of women in New York…not your concern."
You can see his post below.
This is coming from the same man who wore a yamulke in 2016 during a visit to the Jewish Center of Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, by the way.
Many echoed Hochul's criticisms of Cruz.
Islam's funeral was held at his mosque in the Bronx, where separate viewings were held for men and women. Women covered their heads with scarves in keeping with Muslim tradition, while many of the men wore skullcaps.
During the funeral, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch delivered an emotional address from a lectern, her hair covered by a black head scarf. Outside, more than 100 women—most of them uniformed police officers—waited to be admitted for the viewing, all wearing head scarves.
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