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‘What the hell do you have to lose?’ Trump makes plea to long-shot voters in New York

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‘What the hell do you have to lose?’ Trump makes plea to long-shot voters in New York

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Former President Donald Trump will make a campaign stop on Long Island, New York today, a state he has little chance of winning but is critical to maintaining GOP control of the House.

The Queens-born Republican presidential candidate made a pitch to New York voters Tuesday afternoon on Truth Social, saying, “Hundreds of thousands of Migrants, Crime at record levels, Terrorists pouring in, Inflation eating your hearts out – WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE? VOTE FOR TRUMP!”

New York traditionally votes with the Democratic Party – and they made no exception for their hometown candidate in 2016 or 2020. Though born and raised in New York City, he was soundly rejected by voters in his home state in each election.

But Trump’s campaign stop on Wednesday, his second since the latest failed assassination attempt over the weekend, is more important for the down-ballot Republicans running in the Empire State.

Several Republican-controlled House seats are vulnerable this year, including Reps. Anthony D’Esposito of Long Island, Mike Lawler and Marc Molinaro from the Hudson Valley, and Brandon Williams from Syracuse in upstate New York. Each faces a highly contested race in the November election.

The Trump campaign’s choice of visiting the NYC suburb of Nassau County is also no coincidence; the suburb has become a Republican stronghold in the last two years. Escalating crime in neighboring Manhattan during the COVID-19 pandemic saw Long Islanders increasingly turn to the Republican Party for answers, which promised to act as a safety net against New York’s liberal policies.

The strategy has worked.

In 2022, Republicans won all four of Long Island’s congressional seats and dominated local races in Nassau County, where Wednesday’s rally is being held.

Closing out his post, Trump made several promises to New Yorkers: “I’ll work with the Democrat Governor and Mayor, and make sure the funding is there to bring New York State back to levels it hasn’t seen for 50 years. People are fleeing, maybe we’ll get them to ‘flee back!’”

Trump’s Long Island rally coincides with his original sentencing date for the Manhattan hush-money case. New York State Judge Juan Merchan was set to sentence him on September 18, but the sentencing has since been postponed to after the general election on Nov. 26.

Melissa Cruz is an elections reporting fellow who focuses on voter access issues for the USA TODAY Network. You can reach her at mcruz@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter, at @MelissaWrites22.

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