By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-09-11 18:01:44 | Updated at 2026-09-11 19:25:30
1 hour ago
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul dipped out of the reading of the names of 9/11 victims early at Ground Zero Friday morning so she could appear on CNN.
Hochul left the solemn ceremony at the reflecting pool just before 11 a.m. Friday as the list of names of victims killed on Sept. 11, 2001 were being read so she could sing her own praises with Wolf Blitzer on CNN.
Follow live updates as America honors the 25th anniversary of 9/11, in NYC and across the nation
“I want to thank all the dignitaries that are here and families that stayed until the end, because everyone one of these names matter,” said the individual who read the final names at the annual memorial ceremony.
But Hochul had already long wrapped her interview with Blitzer by then, where she spoke about the 25th anniversary ceremony and the city’s recent release of thousands of pages of documents related to the air quality in Lower Manhattan after 9/11.
The Democrat, who is seeking a second, full four-year term in November, then pivoted to discussing her own initiatives like increasing police patrols around Jewish institutions ahead of High Holidays.
Hochul Press Secretary Kara Cumoletti defended the governor’s decision to leave the ceremony early, pointing fingers at Vice President J.D. Vance, who she claimed left at the same time.
More coverage on the 25th Anniversary of 9/11:
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- 9/11 25th anniversary live updates: JD Vance unites with Clinton, Obama, Biden, Bush at Ground Zero ceremony
- Rudy Giuliani shakes Zohran Mamdani’s hand at NYC 9/11 memorial ceremony after calling on mayor to skip
- Sept. 11 widow blasts Saudis: ‘How can it be 25 years and still we have no justice?’
“The governor departed the ceremony at the same time she does every year, alongside former presidents and Vice President Vance,” Hochul’s spokesperson wrote.
“She then went on national television to commemorate the 25th anniversary of September 11th, the victims, and their enduring impact on New York. Trying to manufacture a controversy out of that is both false and beneath the solemnity of the day,” she said.
