New York Gov. Kathy Hochul weighs in on Trump's conviction in her state

Transcript

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

On the next Morning Edition, New York Governor Kathy Hochul. She speaks with co-host Steven Inskeep about her push to pass bills that would protect kids online and the big news taking place in her state.

STEVE INSKEEP, BYLINE: What do you think about the former president's conviction in your state?

KATHY HOCHUL: Justice was served. In the state of New York, if you commit a crime, and there's evidence to demonstrate that you have met the standards of being arrested and brought to a trial and a jury of your peers considers all the evidence, then their verdict must hold. And that's exactly how the rule of law has always prevailed in our country. And this is no different. So I just want to make sure everyone knows our rule is no one is above the law. It's a commonly used phrase, but this is more evidence that holds in America and in our state than anything else I can think of. No one is above the law.

INSKEEP: And one political question about this. What political advice would you give Democrats this year as they think about how to deal with this conviction and the news of it in their campaigns?

HOCHUL: I don't think that this is going to be a factor in the election for our congressional candidates. I truly do not. I think they should keep their heads down and focus on the accomplishments of President Biden, what he has done. We just announced a program yesterday in the state of New York that'll help families with the high cost of transitioning to clean energy. I was - we had the secretary of energy here. We talked about how there's going to be 50,000 new jobs in upstate New York because of what the president did on semiconductors.

Those are all issues that our Democrats running for Congress should lean into. Talk about the economy. Talk about what we're doing to help the cost of living. And ignore this sideshow. That is not going to affect the election in New York. What affects the election is people believing that the candidates running have their back, they understand their concerns, and they're going to do something about it.

SUMMERS: That's New York Governor Kathy Hochul. You can hear more from that interview on Monday's Morning Edition. Listen on the radio, online, or by asking your smart speaker to play NPR or your member station by name. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.