NEW YORK, NY – Letitia James, the Attorney General of New York, was met with a mixture of long-running boos and chants of “Trump” during her speech at an FDNY promotion ceremony. The incident occurred as James took to the podium at the Christian Cultural Center’s Brooklyn Campus, where the families of captains, battalion chiefs, and civilians up for promotion, along with their firefighter colleagues, were in attendance.
In an attempt to calm the crowd, James urged them to simmer down, saying, “We’re in a house of God. First, uhm, simmer down. Thank you for getting it out of your system.” However, the jeering quickly turned into chants in support of former President Donald Trump, with the crowd bellowing “Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump.”
Despite the evident disapproval, James continued with her speech, offering prayers for “those men and women who exemplify true courage.” She acknowledged that some of them might even be present and booing her, but she still prayed for them. James proceeded to congratulate the 65 uniformed members from Fire Operations, EMS Operations, and the Bureau of Fire Investigation who were being promoted at the ceremony. The event also honored the swearing-in of Rev. Pamela Holmes as FDNY chaplain.
It’s worth noting that James’ presence at the ceremony broke with tradition, as the mayor has historically been the elected official invited to speak. A firefighter who attended the event anonymously connected the crowd’s reaction to the recent case against Trump, which the former president has called a politically motivated “witch hunt.” The firefighter stated, “She has no problem bragging that she convicted Trump, so this is how hard-working New Yorkers, who put their life on the line, feel about her actions.”
FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens deemed the taunts an “embarrassment” that did not befit the world’s best fire department. He emphasized that the ceremony was meant to celebrate the accomplishments of the members being promoted.
The incident drew strong reactions from various parties. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung criticized James as “an embarrassment to the people of New York,” while stating that the rank and file of the FDNY consider President Trump their greatest ally. Cheung’s comments came in response to James’ apparent trolling of Trump over the increasing interest on the judgment against him.
Despite the backlash, James remains focused on her pursuit of the judgment against Trump. She has vowed to ask a judge to seize his assets, including some of his high-profile properties in New York City, if he fails to get the judgment stayed or fails to pay what he owes.
Letitia James was elected as the State Attorney General in November 2018, becoming the first African American and the first woman to be elected as New York State Attorney General.
