{"id":13138,"date":"2026-05-24T21:14:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T21:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/05\/24\/trump-takes-aim-at-hochul-and-jeffries-at-lawler-campaign-event-city-state-new-york\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T21:14:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T21:14:24","slug":"trump-takes-aim-at-hochul-and-jeffries-at-lawler-campaign-event-city-state-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/05\/24\/trump-takes-aim-at-hochul-and-jeffries-at-lawler-campaign-event-city-state-new-york\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump takes aim at Hochul and Jeffries at Lawler campaign event – City & State New York"},"content":{"rendered":"
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News & Politics<\/p>\n

It was the first time a sitting president campaigned in Rockland County since President Gerald Ford visited in 1976.<\/h2>\n

\"President<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump, right, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman speak to over 1,500 supporters at a campaign event for Rep. Mike Lawler held at Rockland County Community College on May 22, 2026. <\/span> Kate Lisa <\/span><\/p>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n

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Striving to appeal to voters in one of the most competitive House races in the country, President Donald Trump on Friday campaigned for Rep. Mike Lawler in Rockland County \u2013 taking aim at top House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Gov. Kathy Hochul a day after the state Legislature passed sweeping reforms to restrict local officials from assisting federal immigration agents.<\/p>\n

Trump took the stage at Rockland County Community College to stump for Lawler as he faces a tough reelection bid this November. \u201cHe\u2019s a pain in the ass, you\u2019re lucky to have him,\u201d Trump said of Lawler to a screaming crowd of at least 1,500 people.<\/p>\n

At least four protesters disrupted the president at different times throughout his nearly 90-minute speech and were escorted out by police. Trump\u2019s visit marked the first time a sitting president had visited Rockland County for a public event since President Gerald Ford hit a campaign stop at the county courthouse in 1976, Lawler told the crowd before Trump arrived.<\/p>\n

The Hudson Valley congressional representative defended Trump\u2019s visit to reporters before the event. \u201cHaving the president of the United States come to your district is a wonderful opportunity for the community, no matter who the president is, just like when Joe Biden showed up three years ago, I was there,\u201d Lawler said. \u201cAnd when Donald Trump\u2019s coming, I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawler recounted intense negotiations between himself, Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson to lift the State And Local Tax, or SALT, deduction cap last year. Lawler threatened to torpedo Trump\u2019s landmark tax and spending plan, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill. And he said Trump replied, \u201cGive Lawler all the salt he wants.\u201d In the end, the cap was raised from $10,000 to $40,000 for single and joint filers.<\/p>\n

Lawler\u2019s tale showed how his strategy impressed the president, who has seemingly deepened his respect he has for the incumbent House Republican. Trump has endorsed Lawler for a third term and repeatedly posted about the race on his social media site Truth Social.<\/p>\n

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who\u2019s running against Hochul with Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood, also stumped for Lawler and sang his praises to potential voters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Blakeman and Trump met in the Oval Office two weeks ago to discuss a range of topics, including New York elections and the state\u2019s high utility costs. \u201cTell those New Yorkers we need to drill, baby, drill.\u201d Blakeman recalled Trump telling him during the visit. Trump has asked Hochul to lift the state\u2019s gas fracking ban, but she has so far refused.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Trump railed against the immigration reforms included in this year\u2019s state budget, which he said obstructs federal immigration enforcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBruce, hopefully you\u2019ll get that unpassed very quickly,\u201d the president said, later adding he\u2019s going to work with Blakeman because he\u2019s going to win. \u201cBruce, you\u2019re going to be the next governor, I\u2019m telling you right now,\u201d he said. He later posed a warning to Hochul. \u201cYou better watch yourself, Kathy,\u201d Trump said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got a big race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hochul later responded to the president\u2019s threat on social media. \u201cI won\u2019t be intimidated by Trump \u2013 or any spineless MAGA coward like my opponent Bruce Blakeman,\u201d her office posted on X.<\/a> \u201cWhile they\u2019re busy screwing over New Yorkers, I\u2019m fighting like hell to lower costs and protect New Yorkers from his attacks. Game on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier in his speech, Trump said Jeffries inspired him to coin the word \u201cDumacrat,\u201d a portmanteau of \u201cDemocrat\u201d and \u201cdumb.\u201d\u201cHe\u2019s a very low-IQ person,\u201d Trump said of Jeffries, who has led national Democrats in a redistricting war against Republicans. \u201cVery low IQ.\u201d <\/svg><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

News & Politics It was the first time a sitting president campaigned in Rockland County since President Gerald Ford visited in 1976. President Donald Trump, right, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman speak to over 1,500 supporters at a campaign event for Rep. Mike Lawler held at Rockland County Community College on May 22, 2026. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}