Far-left New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) claimed that Republicans are pushing a "conspiracy" that Democrat states are "not as safe" and called the GOP "master manipulators."

What are the details?

Hochul made her declaration Sunday during an interview with MSNBC’s Al Sharpton, Mediaite reported. Sharpton, also far-left politically, fed Hochul a softball setup during the segment regarding Republicans "fixated on crime" — which just so happens to align with her campaign talking points.

During Hochul's debate last week against GOP New York governor candidate Lee Zeldin, who argued she's soft on crime, Hochul replied, "I don't know why that's so important to you."

Sharpton couldn't seem to fathom why it's so important, either.

"It is amazing to me that these Republican candidates like Zeldin and like [U.S. Senate candidate in Pennsylvania] Dr. [Mehmet] Oz are all about crime but don't wanna do anything about guns, which is the real tool of criminals," Sharpton said, according to a clip of the segment Mediaite posted. "And they act like you ... and others are soft on crime when in fact I don't think anyone has been stronger in many states ..."

'Master manipulators'

At one point in the interview, Hochul told Sharpton that Republicans "are master manipulators. They have this conspiracy going all across America trying to convince people that in Democratic states they’re not as safe. Well, guess what. They’re also not only election deniers, they’re data deniers,” according to video from the New York Post.

She also said that "shootings and murders are down in our state by 15 percent, even in New York City; down 20 percent on Long Island, where Lee Zeldin comes from ... and it's the Republican states where they have almost no restrictions on guns. Because of the abundance of guns, people are killing each other with more frequency. The safer places are the Democratic states."

Mediaite, citing police statistics, said murders were down by 14% in New York City compared to 2021, but all other major crimes were up — including a 33% rise in robberies. A recent Quinnipiac poll found crime is the most important issue to New York voters.

Hochul has a seven-point lead over Zeldin, Mediate said, but she had a nearly 20-point lead over the summer.