Hochul, James' vitriol inappropriate, give Trump a chance

Just one day after Donald Trump won the presidential election, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James announced a state task force strategizing how to resist the president-elect’s right-leaning policies on immigration, guns, labor, abortion, the environment and more [“NYS task force to combat right-leaning policies,” News, Nov. 7].

Hochul congratulated Trump on his victory but warned that “if you try to harm New Yorkers . . . I will fight you every step of the way.” James said, “We are prepared to fight back once again. We’re ready to respond to their attacks.” Such strong, combative words.

President Joe Biden made a plea for unity “to see each other not as adversaries but as fellow Americans” and once again asked the country to “bring down the temperature.” Maybe it’s time for us to listen to the song “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”

 — Peter Pellegrini, Seaford

Before the election, Gov. Kathy Hochul went on a rant stating that if New Yorkers vote for a Republican “you’re voting for someone who supports Donald Trump, and you’re anti-woman, you’re anti-abortion, and basically, you’re anti-American because you have just trashed American values and what our country is about over and over and you wear this on Election Day.”

The governor’s attack on taxpaying New Yorkers was disgraceful. Her purpose is to serve all New Yorkers despite party affiliation or whom they vote for. For the governor’s information, the more than 3.4 million New York votes for Trump were more than the 3.1 million votes she received in 2022.

 — Michael Fitzpatrick, Massapequa Park

Kathy Hochul and Letitia James need to understand that Donald Trump garnered more than 3.4 million votes in New York. That’s 43.2% of the votes. After the win, they both came out with basically an attack on Trump rather than graciously accepting the results.

James’ vitriol in her speech shows her hatred for Trump. Is a primary mission to get Trump? She needs to remember that she still needs to represent the New Yorkers who voted for Trump.

Her job is not to spend her time, as a state employee, on a personal vendetta against Trump. Do Long Islanders, most of whom voted for Trump, need to worry about the two of them taking it out on us?

— Kevin McGrath, Northport

Many say we should help heal the country and tone things down, but in this state, Kathy Hochul and Letitia James said some terrible things. They announced they will resist the new administration, not even knowing what that is.

Our governor should worry about taking care of all New Yorkers. She says they will help seniors and lower property taxes, but it never gets done.

 — Howie Frisch, Baldwin

Less than one full day after an election mandate, Letitia James again has declared war on Donald Trump.

If you’re in a predominantly Democratic state, you can be as prejudiced and biased as you want without reproach. I’d say that anyone who supports her is anti-American.

 — Roger Rothman, Commack

Give Trump a chance to show his plans

This is a waiting game. We don’t yet know what the once and future president will do come Jan. 20 [“What Trump return means for NY,” News, Nov. 9]. While his rhetoric was sometimes vindictive, his actions might be quite different. We must give him the chance to show the kind of leadership that a majority of voters expect of him. His job is not to punish those who did not vote for him but to lead the greatest nation in history to new heights for all the people. Give him a chance to prove he’s up to the task.

 — Michael Zisner, Bethpage

I am not a part of a hardcore Trump base nor am I a voter vaguely aware of his scandals. Please do not put Trump voters into two categories. It comes down to my ability to look at his deeds and not his words. And to put it simply: I was better off under Trump’s first term than I am now.

 — JoAnn Brown, West Islip

So, both Nassau and Suffolk counties are now Donald Trump country. Last time I checked, they were also in New York State, which went Democrat.

I wonder how Trump supporters will feel when Trump denies the state some form of assistance for not supporting him. He did this to several blue states during his first term. He might feel even more empowered to do so now that he has a mandate.

Be careful what you wish for.

 — Chris Marzuk, Greenlawn

You can’t run a divisive campaign and then talk about bringing people together. That’s not how it works, and Donald Trump should already know that from his first term in office. Are we really going to do this again?

 — Mark Snider, Massapequa