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“No, Kathy, it’s your fault, and now looking over the facts, you should not have allowed this to happen. If you can’t solve it, let me know, and I’ll show you how to properly get things done.”
Trump doubled down moments later by adding:
“Kathy, call me if you can’t do it, I will get it done – I know all the players, great people!!!”
So far, that phone call has not happened.
Meanwhile, the people paying the price are everyday New Yorkers who suddenly found themselves trapped in transportation chaos while political leaders traded blame.
The strike has crippled one of the busiest commuter systems in America, leaving roughly 300,000 riders searching for alternate ways into New York City.
For many workers, that meant waking up in the middle of the night just to make it to work on time.
One commuter told local media he had to set his alarm for 2 a.m. in order to catch a 4:30 shuttle bus. Another healthcare worker described a commute that ballooned from half an hour into an exhausting multi-hour ordeal.
The economic toll is staggering.
According to estimates from the New York State Comptroller, the strike is draining roughly $61 million from the regional economy every single day.
Yet critics argue Hochul had more than enough time to prevent this disaster.
Her administration has attempted to blame failed federal mediation efforts last year, claiming the Trump administration did not do enough to stop negotiations from collapsing.
But that narrative quickly falls apart under scrutiny.
The unions themselves reportedly asked the Trump administration to intervene during earlier negotiations. Trump responded by appointing emergency mediation boards that delayed any work stoppage and bought New York additional time to negotiate.
Despite those extensions, Hochul’s administration still failed to secure an agreement.
And now taxpayers and commuters are stuck footing the bill.
The financial demands at the center of the standoff are also fueling outrage.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority reportedly offered workers a 9.5% wage increase over three years, along with another 4.5% raise in the fourth year tied to productivity improvements.
Other transit unions accepted similar agreements.
The Long Island Rail Road unions refused.
Instead, they demanded a 14.5% increase over four years with no productivity requirements attached.
Critics say that demand becomes even harder to justify when looking at the existing payroll figures.
According to MTA compensation data, the average LIRR employee already earns well into six figures between salary and overtime.
Some workers reportedly collected more than $100,000 in overtime pay alone last year.
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber has previously stated that LIRR workers are the highest-paid railroad employees anywhere in the country.
At the same time, many of the commuters stranded by the strike earn less than the workers now walking the picket lines.
That contrast is becoming politically toxic for Hochul as frustrations continue building across the state.
The comparisons to former Governor Mario Cuomo are also becoming unavoidable.
When New York faced previous LIRR strikes in 1987 and 1994, Cuomo reportedly stepped directly into negotiations and aggressively pushed for settlements.
The 1994 strike ended within just two days.
This time, critics say Hochul chose press conferences and political finger-pointing instead of direct intervention.
Even New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has largely avoided taking a clear position while issuing traffic warnings as congestion spirals throughout the city.
Trump, meanwhile, appears more than happy to keep the pressure squarely on Hochul.
For conservatives watching the situation unfold, the strike has become a perfect symbol of modern Democrat governance: bloated public systems, politically protected unions, endless excuses, and working Americans left stranded in the process.
And as another brutal commute begins for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, Hochul is discovering that blaming Trump may have only handed him another political weapon.
