UNIONDALE, N.Y.—Former President Donald Trump held his first full rally since surviving a second apparent assassination attempt over the weekend.
The rally was held in Uniondale, a city on Republican-leaning Long Island in the deep-blue state of New York. Long Island is home to several highly competitive congressional districts that could determine control of the House in the next Congress.
Ahead of the event, a large crowd had already assembled at the venue, the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which seats around 13,000 people. Most seats were filled.
The failed plot was top of mind for attendees in Uniondale.
William Diver, a 70-year-old from Farmingville, New York, called the attempted assassination “disgusting” and expressed hope that the federal government could find answers to the events that unfolded that day.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii has been charged with two federal gun crimes over the incident, with further charges expected as both federal and state authorities probe the case.
Others questioned the adequacy of the Secret Service’s protective measures. The agency has been under intense scrutiny since the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, two months ago, which increased after the Florida incident.
“It was terrible. It was horrible,” attendee Ariel Kohan said when asked about the recent attempt on Trump’s life.
“The Secret Service has to step up and do a much better job. But, you know, like, thank God for that one Secret Service agent that saw the barrel of the gun sticking out of the shrub,” Kohan added, referencing the Secret Service agent who noticed a rifle sticking through the fence at the golf course and immediately began to open fire.
Acting Service Service Director Ronald Rowe defended the agency’s measures at the golf course, calling them “effective.”
At the opening of his speech, Trump praised the Secret Service agent who had first noticed the suspected would-be assassin, as well as the woman whose photographs of the fleeing suspect’s vehicle helped police quickly apprehend him.
“These encounters with death … have only hardened my resolve to use my time on earth to make America great again,” Trump said.
In a post on Truth Social ahead of the rally Trump said that: “We have a real chance of winning [New York] for the first time in many decades.” New York last voted for a Republican presidential candidate in 1984.
“What do you have to lose?” Trump added at the rally.
Polling shows that the state, despite Trump’s optimism, is likely to be won by Vice President Kamala Harris in November.
Recent polling shows that Harris has between an 11 and 17 percent edge in the state—though this falls well short of President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, when he won by around 23 points.
But Republicans have seen a much stronger performance on Republican-leaning Long Island, where the party controls three of the island’s four House seats—seats that could be crucial in ensuring a Republican-led House for Trump should he regain the White House.
Earlier the same day, fears arose regarding a reported bomb threat near the area. Police said in a statement that the threat was unfounded, and said an individual was in custody for the claim.
The rally comes after the 1.3 million member Teamsters Union announced that it wouldn’t make an endorsement for president for the first time since 1966.
Trump marketed the decision as a win for Republicans, calling it “a big thing” that the powerful union wasn’t endorsing Democrats.
Make 9/11 Memorial a National Monument
Trump said that he would designate Ground Zero, the site of the 9/11 attacks in Manhattan, as a national monument if reelected.
“As president, I will officially make the Ground Zero site at the World Trade Center a national monument … so that hallowed ground and the memory of all who perished there will be preserved for all time,” he said at the rally.
The comments come seven days after Trump attended a 9/11 memorial service at the site of the attacks. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also in attendance.
Under current federal law, it’s unclear whether the president could unilaterally declare Ground Zero a national monument without the consent of Congress, as Ground Zero is not federal land.
Trump Promises to Restore SALT
The former president spent most of the rally discussing crime, drugs, immigration, and taxes.
He specifically focused on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, a federal deduction that allows taxpayers to deduct their state and local taxes from their federal tax bill. It’s popular in high-tax states like New York and New Jersey.
Trump told the crowd that he would restore the full SALT deduction if reelected.
Under Trump’s 2017 tax legislation, SALT deductions were capped at $10,000 per filer, and some Republicans have pushed for getting rid of the deduction altogether. New York Republicans are generally supportive of uncapping it.
“I will cut taxes for families, small businesses, and workers, including restoring the SALT deduction,” Trump said.
‘Trump Reciprocal Trade Act’
At the rally, Trump also announced legislation he would pursue if reelected, the Trump Reciprocal Trade Act.
The proposal wraps in many of Trump’s criticisms of current U.S. trade policy: Trump said that the bill would have the U.S. set its tariffs at the same rate as those imposed by foreign countries on U.S. imports.
“You charge us, we charge you,” Trump said, putting special emphasis on how the legislation would affect Chinese imports.
The proposed legislation would also extend to U.S. allies.
“Some of the worst trading countries are allies,” Trump said. “They’re friends of ours, and they take advantage of us horribly.
From The Epoch Times