New York Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones blasted the Rev. Al Sharpton on Wednesday for taking a get-tough stance on New York shoplifting — dismissing the crime wave as no big deal and suggesting that the longtime liberal activist was now backing the “carceral state.”

Hannah-Jones, who spearheaded the controversial “1619 Project,” made the comments after Sharpton called on Mayor Eric Adams to stop surging thefts in the wake of The Post’s exclusive story of a Trader Joe’s shoplifter who made off with 10 steaks.

“This drumbeat for continued mass incarceration is really horrific to watch,” Hannah-Jones tweeted.

“A person stealing steak is not national news, and there have always been thefts from stores. This is how you legitimize the carceral state.”

Sharpton made the comments during a segment on MSNBC about how businesses have been forced to adopt extreme security measures to address surging crime. He complained about how retailers are now even “locking up my toothpaste.”

“You go into a local pharmacy, a Duane Reade or Rite Aid, you got to get some help to assist you,” Sharpton said.

“They have the little button, they get the buzzer and the guy comes over and unlocks your toothpaste. I mean we are talking about basic stuff here.”

Sharpton acknowledged there was ongoing debate on how to handle rising crime rates and the criminal justice system.

“There are those that are concerned, including me, about overloading the system in the jails with petty crime,” he said.

“But at the same time, you cannot have a culture where people are just at random, just robbing and stealing and is out of control, and is put on the front page of newspapers, which only encourages others to do it.”