Gov. Hochul Touts ‘Productive Meeting’ With President Trump After Vowing To ‘Fight Back Hard’ Against Him

After meeting one-on-one with President Donald Trump, a number of his leftist critics have softened their view about him and his agenda.

That appeared to be the case after his recent meeting with Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The two leaders discussed several issues impacting the Empire State, and Hochul’s office has since expressed a positive assessment of their conversation.

According to Fox News:

“Gov. Hochul and President Trump covered a broad range of topics in today’s meeting, including the redevelopment of Penn Station, congestion pricing, tariffs and energy policy,” a spokesperson for her office shared with Fox News Digital.

“While no formal agreements or decisions were reached, it was a productive conversation, and we look forward to continuing the dialogue in the coming weeks.”

The White House also confirmed the meeting to Fox News Digital but said it was off the record and there would be no readout.

Trump told reporters Thursday, “Kathy Hochul, very nice woman; she’s coming in tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock to meet me.”

He added they would be discussing reviving the Constitution natural gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to New York, among other topics.

The statement from the governor’s office seemed to represent an abrupt shift from her formerly antipathetic rhetoric about Trump:

Gov. Kathy Hochul demands Trump support initiatives that benefit New York and threatens if he tries to “harm New Yorkers or roll back their rights, I will fight you every step of the way.”

Has the Botox gone to her brain? Trump IS a New Yorker. pic.twitter.com/miDtjxt2Sa

— Julia 🇺🇸 (@Jules31415) November 6, 2024

🚨 UNACCEPTABLE. New York Governor Kathy Hochul is locking the Trump administration out of DMV data for *criminal* illegal aliens. Tom Homan lays out how this actually causes MASSIVE problems.

HOMAN: “ICE officers and CBP officers can’t get DMV data. When they pull a car over,… pic.twitter.com/sRQIsaTUpl

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 13, 2025

🚨 TDS Alert

NY Gov Kathy Hochul Says New York Trump Supporters are Clowns and New York will Never Ever Support Him For President

“If he wants to spend his time doing these made up fake rallies and pretending there’s support here… be my guest..”

I smell panic. Do you smell… pic.twitter.com/ediQjcwYb6

— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) May 24, 2024

Earlier this month, Hochul used confrontational language to describe her opposition to the Trump administration on the topic of congestion pricing, as NPR reported at the time:

The program’s goal is to reduce traffic in the most populous city in the country and raise money to upgrade its transit infrastructure by charging a $9 toll for most vehicles entering central Manhattan during rush hour. The administration says it must end by March 21.

Hochul told Morning Edition that she will “fight back hard” against the administration’s demands, and added that it’s up to Democratic governors to be the “firewall” as Republicans in Congress weigh slashing social safety net programs.

“We offered up an olive branch, [we said] ‘We’ll work with you on infrastructure. Let’s redo Penn Station,'” Hochul said. “Those areas were common ground. But once you draw first blood on us, we’re coming back hard. And I will be leading the resistance on policies like these where you’re hurting New Yorkers directly. This is our decision, not yours.”

Since Trump took office, Hochul has also had to wrestle with removing New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a political ally to Trump, who faced federal charges of bribery, fraud and soliciting a political contribution from a foreign national. In February, his charges were controversially dropped by the Department of Justice. And Hochul decided not to remove Adams, a decision many viewed as a victory for Adams and Trump.

Here’s what Trump had to say prior to this week’s meeting:

BREAKING: President Trump announces that he will be meeting with New York Governor Kathy Hochul to discuss building a pipeline in the state to lower fuel costs and create jobs. pic.twitter.com/eux2JGle35

— Media Research Center (@theMRC) March 13, 2025