The governor of New York has taken a swipe at Donald Trump after he declared himself a “king”.
Kathy Hochul criticised the US president after the White House ordered a halt to New York City’s congestion pricing plan.
Mr Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to claim victory with the statement: “LONG LIVE THE KING!”
He wrote: “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED.”
Ms Hochul said in response: “New York hasn’t laboured under a King in over 250 years. We sure as hell are not going to start now.”
The White House doubled down on Mr Trump’s statement by going on to repeat his “LONG LIVE THE KING!” statement.
A post on X from the official White House account repeated Mr Trump’s boast and added a computer-generated image of the president wearing a crown with Manhattan in the background.
It appeared in the style of Time magazine, but replaces the publication’s title with “Trump”.
The Trump administration claimed the US federal government has jurisdiction over roads leading to New York and announced it would revoke White House approval of the scheme amid complaints it burdens working class people.
New York has vowed to defend the scheme, which imposes a £7.15 ($9) toll on vehicles entering Manhattan between 60th Street and the southern tip of the island.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the scheme as a “slap in the face” of working class Americans, “backwards” and “unfair”.
He argued motorists have already paid for the building and improvement of highways through taxes and the toll scheme meant drivers had no alternative but to pay.
Authorities in New York vowed to defend the scheme, with the city’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority asking a judge on Wednesday to make a declaratory judgement to stop the Trump administration, according to the BBC.
Ms Hochul vowed that the charges would continue and claimed Mr Trump was attempting to strip the state of New York’s rights.
She said: “This is an attack on our sovereign identity, our independence from Washington. We are a nation of states. This is what we fought for.”
The Governor said New York isn’t “subservient” to a king or anyone else in Washington, adding: “So this is the fight we’re in. It’s all about our sovereignty.”
