Trump’s New York stop on Friday was billed as a pitch for his midterm message and, in particular, for the tax law he signed last year. But the appearance at Rockland Community College quickly moved off an economy script and into a series of tangents before he returned to taxes, take-home pay and how Republicans and Democrats voted on the measures.
The event centered on Trump’s support for Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican in a district that voted for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in 2024. The stop also reflected the White House’s push to highlight Trump’s economic accomplishments as his approval rating on the economy has fallen, according to an AP-NORC poll.
From the start, Trump veered away from the speech’s intended focus. The Associated Press reported that he went off on tangents about voter identification, crime in cities and transgender women in sports, and he also promoted “Dumocrats” as a new moniker for the opposition party. He also discussed toiletries locked up in pharmacies and polled the audience on what he should call former President Joe Biden.
Trump eventually returned to tax policy. He told the crowd that “I cut your taxes, cut the taxes on workers, families, small business, who are the soul of this state,” according to the AP’s report, and he said listing provisions showed “These are all Republican tax cuts” while “The Democrats voted against every one of these tax cuts.”
The event served as a showcase for one specific tax change that supporters say matters in a high-tax state like New York: the SALT deduction. Trump traveled to the Hudson Valley area to appear with Lawler, and the AP reported that the event was meant to promote the tax law he signed last year, particularly the quadrupling of the deduction for state and local taxes.
Lawler joined Trump during the event and described the impact of the expanded SALT deduction on his district. The AP reported that Lawler said more than 90% of people in his district were able to fully deduct their state and local taxes, and he thanked Trump for working with him “to deliver a big win” for his constituents, according to the report.
Trump’s comments also included praise and pressure on other Republican allies. The AP said Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Trump-backed Republican candidate for New York governor, appeared with Trump, and Trump told the crowd that “Guys like Mike Lawler, guys like Bruce Blakeman, you put them in, they’ll turn it around.”
Behind the campaign theater, the AP reported that the White House has been seeking more opportunities to publicize Trump’s economic accomplishments amid a slumping economy approval rating. About one-third of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling the economy, down slightly from 40% at the start of his second term, the AP reported, and it noted that gasoline prices have surged this year due to the war in Iran.
Lawler’s race is expected to be closely watched this November, with Democrats choosing candidates to challenge him through a June 23 primary. The AP reported that five Democrats are vying for the party’s nomination, and it quoted Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Riya Vashi calling Trump’s appearance in the district a pitch for a “disastrous economy” she said was “crushing working families at every turn.”
On the Republican side, the AP reported that National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Richard Hudson disputed that the visit would not help, saying Trump’s Friday appearance would “absolutely” help and pointing to what he described as strong polling in Lawler’s district. Hudson also said “Democratic numbers are tanking,” according to the AP report.
Lawler said the event was an official White House event and not a campaign one, according to the AP, and he said more than 5,000 people registered to attend in the first 12 hours that sign-up was available. The AP also reported that Trump formally endorsed Lawler for re-election last year amid discussion of a possible run for governor by the congressman, a timing supporters viewed as a way to keep Lawler in the House race.