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Gov. Kathy Hochul was defensive and dismissive while drawing fiery attacks from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman during Tuesday’s New York gubernatorial debate, a human behavior and body language expert said.
While the incumbent looked like “a deer in headlights,” her GOP opponent gave an aggressive showing — repeatedly attacking Hochul over New York’s high energy costs, taxes, and rising antisemitism, Dr. Lillian Glass told The Post.
Blakeman at points even visibly displayed his “anger,” according to Glass, who holds doctorates in counseling psychology and communication disorders and has testified in court as an expert witness in the field.
Glass provided her expert insight on some key moments during the debate:
Hochul stumbles out of the gate
Hochul stumbled in her opening statement as she shot off her first of nearly 20 mentions of President Trump through the hour-long program.
“And you’re going to hear a lot of… lot of… different opinions here this evening,” Hochul said, struggling to find her words — something Glass said she thinks exudes Hochul’s “defensiveness.”
“It did not come off well, especially for somebody who is an incumbent governor,” Glass said, noting it showed a lack of preparation.
“Not good. Not a good look,” she said.
Hochul on her back foot
Hochul’s defensive posture extended to taking long pauses before answering questions, frequently smiling and looking down at the podium, and smiling as Blakeman talked.
“There was also a lot of pause time where she had to take her time to manufacture an answer. Whereas Blakeman just went right to it and had answers right back to her and had accusations that were very, very straightforward towards her,” Glass said, praising the Long Island pol’s swipes.
“What’s happening is you’re seeing Kathy Hochul really embarrassed. She’s blinking a lot and she’s looking down, smiling. She’s not handling this well,” she added.
Overall, Blakeman just presented better, according to the expert.
“There’s a closing off of her throat, there’s a nasality that’s very difficult to listen to,” Glass said of Hochul.
The Cornell Moment
Blakeman pounced on the Democratic governor during an exchange about changing state laws in response to the 2024 Cornell University gang rape accusations. Blakeman accused the governor of not using her emeritus board seat at the Ivy League University or the state’s leverage over the institution to demand a more immediate investigation.
“As a trustee and as governor, you didn’t call for an independent investigation when you found out that the district attorney was dropping the case. Shame on you,” Blakeman charged.
“The university failed that young woman,” Hochul replied, staring straight ahead into the camera with a blank look on her face.
“She was like a deer in the headlights,” Glass said.
“That is a person losing a lot of points and a lot of people having respect for her,” the body language expert added.
Getting the Bruce juiced
Blakeman could be seen rapidly blinking throughout the debate, something Glass chalked up to “anger” instead of nerves.
“That you’re seeing the jaw movement and the eye blinking is not insecurity. It’s anger at what she’s saying,” Glass said.
This was especially noticeable as Hochul was peppering Blakeman with accusations of being politically joined at the hip with Trump.
“He’s angry, and he wants to tell the truth, and wants to fight back,” Glass said.
Blakeman needs a spark to close the 9-to-11-point gap in recent polls as Democrats hold a marked registration advantage in deeply blue New York.
Hochul remains highly unpopular in polls, but Blakeman still faces an uphill battle to unseat the incumbent, who first took office in 2021 when former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace.
Election Day is Nov. 3.
Nicholas Perrone contributed reporting.