Trump is making his support for Bruce Blakeman unmistakably clear.
President Trump took direct aim at Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday, accusing her “radical left” allies of damaging New York while confidently forecasting that Republican hopeful Bruce Blakeman can capture the governor’s office.
The high-profile endorsement-style remarks came during Trump’s visit to Nassau County, where Blakeman currently serves as county executive. The president was there to highlight newly released FBI crime data showing a major year-over-year decline in violent crime nationwide.
Addressing a crowd at the Nassau County Police Academy in Garden City, Trump delivered a sweeping warning about what he described as a “communist attack” on the United States, claiming that some American cities are being pushed toward disorder, crime and decay.
Speaking to an energized audience of law enforcement officers and supporters, Trump said communities can deteriorate into what he called a “true hell hole” if the trend continues. He then tied that warning directly to New York politics, saying the state needed Blakeman in office to prevent such a future.
Trump suggested the New York governor’s race should be within Blakeman’s reach, blaming Hochul and Democratic leaders in Albany for policies he argued have weakened public safety, including the state’s cashless bail reforms enacted in 2020.
“How the hell can you lose to that? If you lose, you’ll be ashamed for the rest of your life,” Trump told Blakeman, underscoring how strongly he believes the Republican has an opening against Hochul.
Blakeman, however, still faces an uphill climb. A Siena College poll conducted in early August found Hochul leading among likely voters, 49% to 39%, putting the Republican challenger 10 points behind the Democratic incumbent.
The poll showed Blakeman in a better position than Republican candidate Lee Zeldin at roughly the same point in 2022. Zeldin went on to lose against Hochul by a slim six points – a major feat for a Republican in a historically deep blue state.
Trump’s visit to Long Island came as Blakeman and other Republicans amp up their attacks on Democrats ahead of November’s election, hoping that the party’s sharp leftward shift will alienate voters, especially in suburban swing-districts.
The Empire State in particular has seen the Democratic Socialists of America emerge as a powerful force within the Democratic Party, particularly since Big Apple Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s election last year.
But Trump only mentioned his unlikely texting buddy Mamdani a handful of times, drawing indulgent boos as if the Boston Red Sox were taking the field at Yankee Stadium.
Instead, Trump repeatedly hammered Hochul, accusing her of being soft on crime for supporting cashless bail and a sweeping “sanctuary state” law that bans cooperation between local cops and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
“Hochul and the radical left stand with the gang members, child predators, violent felons. We stand with hardworking New Yorkers,” Trump said.
“She thinks the sanctuary cities are wonderful, which are killing our country,” he added.
The pair certainly haven’t been shy about attacking each other, but Trump and Hochul often temper it with pragmatic praise about their working relationship on specific projects or issues, such as the overhaul of Penn Station.
Blakeman, who vehemently opposes the anti-ICE efforts, returned to his mantra that Nassau is the safest county in America – crediting it in part to the county’s partnership with federal immigration enforcement.
“Nassau County has the most comprehensive agreement with ICE in the United States of America. In one year, we removed 2,000 illegal migrants with criminal records ranging from attempted murder, rape, murder, robbery… drug dealers,” he said before Trump took the stage.
The president was joined by Blakeman, Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel, a Garden City native, for a tour of Nassau County’s “state of the art” police facility during the visit.
Basking in the law enforcement crowd, Trump boasted about Blakeman hiring more than 700 new cops.
Trump drew massive applause when he called for the death penalty for cop killers, as did when he introduced Blakeman – whom he said was an old friend.
“He’s a winner,” he said about Blakeman.
Hochul, apparently anticipating that Trump would bash her record on crime, posted a graphic on X showing massive recent drops in crime.
Shooting deaths are down 62%, murder is down 57% and total crime is down 10%, the graphic stated.
“Here are the facts: Crime rates are continuing to drop across the state,” she wrote.
