A New York state lawmaker raised eyebrows on social media after declaring that she personally embodies more than 200 ethnicities.
“NYC is home to people from over 200 distinct ethnic origins. And I am ALL of them,” Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar, a Democrat who represents Queens, said Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter.
Rajkumar’s claim came in response to The City reporter Katie Honan who questioned why the state lawmaker was awarded the designation of “honorary Dominican” at an event hosted by New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
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New York State Assembly member Jenifer Rajkumar speaks from the podium during a press conference at City Hall. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
“The Queens assemblywoman is at nearly every Gracie Mansion event, is she an honorary every nationality?” Honan asked on X.
Rajkumar’s claim to more than 200 ethnicities caught the attention of Lindsey Boylan, a former aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo who accused Cuomo of sexually harassing her and kissing her in his office in 2018. Boylan said the assemblywoman’s claim closely resembles remarks made by Cuomo in 2017.
Lindsey Boylan (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
“As a New Yorker, I am a Muslim. As a New Yorker, I am Jewish,” Cuomo said during a 2017 press conference, indicating resistance to former President Donald Trump’s controversial ban on entry to the U.S. from several Muslim-majority countries. “As a New Yorker, I am Black, I am gay, I am disabled, I am a woman seeking to control her health and her choices because as a New Yorker we are one community and the New York community is composed of all of the above.”
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“We both worked for Andrew Cuomo,” Boyland said in response, including a screenshot of the Cuomo quote. “I’ve known for some time that we took away entirely different lessons. This barely scratches the surface.”
Cuomo appointed Rajkumar to be the director of immigration affairs and special counsel for the New York Department of State in 2017, and she was eventually elected to the State Assembly in 2020. In 2021, she was chosen by Adams to be part of his transition team when he was elected as New York City mayor.
David C. Banks, chancellor of New York City’s public schools, and Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar listen as New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks at the Department of Education in Manhattan. (Yana Paskova/For the Washington Post via Getty Images)
Boyland wasn’t the only person to question the Democrat lawmaker’s claim. One user asked how the ethnicities can “be distinct if you’re all of them?”
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“I… don’t think you are,” another user added.
“We must begin production of a Veep-style show about Jenifer Rajkumar as soon as the writer and actor strikes are over,” joked another.
Rajkumar’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News request for comment.