President Donald Trump made a last-minute appeal to New York voters Saturday, urging them to support Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman on Election Day. Trump said the Nassau County executive could rescue the Empire State from what he called Gov. Kathy Hochul’s “failed and incompetent” leadership.
“Kathy Hochul may be the worst governor in the history of New York State and one of the worst in the nation,” Trump declared during a tele-rally for Blakeman, Republican attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy and upstate congressional hopeful Anthony Constantino.
Trump also praised Blakeman as a longtime ally, saying, “She’s been a disaster, and I can tell you that Bruce has been a friend of mine for a long time.”
“Anybody that can do what he did in politics and get resounding results—and not only that, he has the safest county in the United States of America [according to US News & World Report]—he’s a great manager,” Trump said.
Although recent polls have placed Hochul between 11 and 14 points ahead, Trump predicted that Blakeman would prevail.
“I’ll be waiting for his call,” Trump said. “I bet he’s going to be one of the first calls if he wins, and he’ll get tremendous help from the federal government. And it’s hard to help people that do such a bad job. It’s almost like throwing good money after bad.”
Hochul spokesperson Ryan Radulovack responded by portraying Trump as a political threat, a strategy the governor has repeatedly used during the campaign.
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“Blakeman … started with the promise to ‘bring Trump-style leadership to Albany,’ and his closing message is telling people how little he regrets going full Trump in this campaign,” Radulovack said.
Radulovack argued that “Gov. Hochul has put money back in New Yorkers’ pockets, invested $4 billion in public safety, and fought back against Trump’s attacks,” while Blakeman “defends everything Trump does.”
During the tele-rally, Trump also claimed that the war with Iran was nearing an end.
“We’re winning very easily the war with Iran,” Trump said.
“They’re talking to us. They’re negotiating, but they do a lot of talking. And we’ll see what happens.”
“But one way or the other, their Navy’s gone. Their Air Force is gone. All blown up. All at the bottom of the sea, and they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple, and they know that. They know that, and we can end it any time we want,” he added.
