Trump boosts Bruce Blakeman's gubernatorial run with visit to Long Island, speech on crime

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Aug 14, 2026

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President Donald Trump touched down Friday on Long Island to highlight his record on crime and try to boost Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s campaign for governor.

With Blakeman by his side, Trump released FBI statistics showing decreases in violent crime after touring the Nassau County Police Academy in Garden City.

“We’re making America safe again,” Trump boasted to a cheering crowd. “Is there anyone who’s in favor of defunding the police and wide-open borders?”

He said the national murder rate declined in 2025 to levels not seen since the year 1900 — and a major reduction from the previous year.

“Every single number is the lowest,” he added. “Crime has continued to plummet under our leadership in 2026.”

“We always back the blue,” Trump declared, speaking in front of a sea of uniformed Nassau County cops.

As he prepared to board Air Force One Friday, Trump downplayed concerns about Navy service members who have been stuck on board the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln amid the conflict with Iran.

“Has the deployment gone on too long?” a reporter asked the president.

“No, no, no. Not nearly long enough,” Trump replied before the flight to Long Island.

Trump’s visit is aimed at boosting Blakeman’s underdog race to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul, who leads in the polls as she seeks a second full two-year term in Albany.

“Bruce is MAGA all the way, and has been with me from the very beginning,” Trump gushed on his social media site in a post hyping the visit to the Empire State.

Trump was joined by Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel. He’s looking to change the subject on top of voters’ minds from the sputtering economy to crime and illegal immigration, on which he gets somewhat better marks.

Trump is also hoping to bolster GOP chances of holding onto the House of Representatives in the fall midterm elections, although analysts say he could weigh down candidates in suburbs where he is deeply unpopular.

Democrats are looking to keep the two Long Island House seats they now hold and say they have a long-shot chance at unseating Rep. Nick LaLota, R-New York, in his NY-01 district on the East End.

In other key metro area contests, Republicans Rep. Mike Lawler, R-New York, and Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-New Jersey, both face very tough fights to win reelection in suburban districts that are trending blue.

Trump narrowly won Nassau County in 2024. The GOP also made big inroads across Long Island in 2022 in a red wave that coincided with ex-Rep. Lee Zeldin’s better-than-expected challenge to Hochul.

Blakeman said he’s grateful Trump is visiting to back his campaign and pay tribute to law enforcement workers.

“When the most powerful person in the world comes to visit you and shows that you have a relationship together, I think that’s a very good thing,” Blakeman said.

Hochul countered by touting her own record in lowering crime. She blames Blakeman for partnering with Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency on his mass deportation campaign that she says is hurting the state’s economy.

The state is pushing to enforce a new state law that requires counties, including Nassau, to scrap cooperation agreements with ICE in the coming days.

“We will continue standing up to federal overreach,” Hochul said in a joint statement with Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump’s reversal of Temporary Protective Status for Haitian immigrants is also a big issue in Nassau County, which has a large community of people with roots in the Caribbean nation.