Credit: Getty Images.

Kathy Hochul swears a lot lately.

I mean, what governor wouldn’t let a few curse words fly at home or around the office, if they had to deal with Donald Trump and the state Legislature and had an upstart MAGA congresswoman nipping at their heels?

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But she seems to be doing it a lot more in public.

In June, when ICE agents arrested New York City Comptroller Brad Lander for trying to support undocumented immigrants who were attending court appointments, Hochul called it “bullshit.” She highlighted that term in an online ad aimed at emphasizing her toughness, calling herself a mom from Buffalo who is not easily intimidated. A featured news headline in the ad reads, “Kathy Hochul Threatens to Redistrict NY as a F*** You to Trump.”
Earlier this month, Hochul complained about the possibility the federal government shutdown may close the Statue of Liberty, among other Republican-led budget cutbacks, saying, “It sucks.” (The site never closed; it remains open even though the shutdown is continuing.)

Is Hochul’s use of salty language the best strategy, though, to help her get what she presumably wants — a strong image and healthy lead among voters in her 2026 reelection campaign?

She is not the only prominent Democrat who is publicly using expressions that, for people of her........

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