President Donald Trump rallied New York Republican voters during a Syracuse visit that grabbed some added attention when Trump brought Mike Tyson to the upstate city on Friday, Oct. 9.
Before Trump flew in on Air Force One with the former heavyweight boxing champion, a series of New York Republican leaders and candidates fired up the crowd of several thousand inside the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center.
During the more than four-hour rally, the mention of Republican gubernatorial candidate and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman repeatedly elicited raucous responses, leading many in the crowd to rise to their feet as “U-S-A" chants broke out at times.
Blakeman told the audience he was battling to save the state from years of misguided Democratic
leadership, blaming Gov. Kathy Hochul and other lawmakers for driving up New York’s energy costs, harming economic development and making communities less safe.
“Now listen, it’s time that we fight for our children and grandchildren,” Blakeman said.
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The crowd, filled with many people wearing a mix of Trump-themed clothing, hats and other merchandise, welcomed the president to Syracuse with a deafening roar.
As Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to be An American” played, Trump slowly made his way to the stage. Once there, he paused and stared out at the crowd, smirking and slightly bobbing his head.
People thrust their fists in the air and held their phones and signs high above their heads; their collective cheers growing even louder.
Trump immediately bashed Hochul and praised her Republican challenger in the crowd before referencing his proximity to Lake Ontario, calling it “Lake America,” which was met with more cheers.
During the roughly hour-long speech that touched on myriad international issues, Trump's attacks on New York Democrats bounced from criticisms of the state's high energy costs and taxes to his vows to fight New York's recently enacted restrictions on law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration agencies.
Trump repeatedly shouted out U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, who was in attendance, and spoke about how close Zeldin was to beating Hochul in New York’s 2022 gubernatorial race. Trump called Zeldin an MVP, adding “we love him.”
Trump also dropped Blakeman’s name often, saying if he “gets in as governor,” he will “cut your energy bills by 70, 80, 90%.”
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To get the crowd involved, Blakeman started listing off New York counties and asked for a show of who in attendance was from each county; Onondaga, which includes Syracuse, received the loudest response.
And in continuing to appeal to the crowd, he name-dropped the Syracuse University men’s basketball team and their 2003 championship win, as well as new head coach Gerry McNamara.
Getting into some of his political talking points, Blakeman reiterated that he would take away New York’s "sanctuary state" status and spoke briefly about the ICE-related shooting that took place in New York City on Oct. 8.
“That never would have happened but for Kathy Hochul’s policies that allowed illegal migrants with criminal records to prey on the people of our state,” Blakeman said.
Earlier in the day, Hochul demanded answers from federal officials after initial reports indicated ICE agents fired into a vehicle with a 5-year-old child inside. "No child should ever have to experience the terror of gunfire, let alone wonder if they’ll make it home alive," Hochul said.
Several other Republican candidates took to the stage beginning at around 5:30 p.m., each to songs meant to pump up the crowd, including “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor and Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone.”
One of the first to speak was Blakeman’s pick for lieutenant governor, Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood.
“Kathy Hochul released dangerous criminals from jail,” Hood said. “She weakened our criminal justice system, and put criminals first, not police and cops first.”
Hood added that he and Blakeman will “end the Hochul crime crisis” and repeal cashless bail.
Republican candidate for New York’s 21st Congressional District Anthony Constantino’s speech spotlighted Trump.
“Before I say anything else today, I want to remind you all, President Trump’s the busiest, most important man in the world today ... but he decided to be here with us today in New York,” Constantino said. He then led the crowd in thanking Trump.
Constantino also had some harsh words for Democrats, asserting they don’t have any solutions to the country’s problems.
“Given the chance, the Democrat Party opened the borders, letting in millions of illegal immigrants, destabilizing the entire world, hurting our nation, their own nation,” he said. “It’s unbelievable.”
Toward the end of his more than 15-minute talk, Constantino made an offer to Trump.
“If elected to Congress, I will happily go to Venezuela and work with the Venezuelan people to bring back their Venezuelan oil and exports to lower costs for all people in all the Americas,” he said.
Why some New Yorkers attended Trump's rally
Shortly before the doors opened to the convention center on Friday afternoon, over 1,000 people filled a small corner of a large parking lot across the street. Many were adorned in red hats and Trump-themed shirts while a muffled voice shouted out of a megaphone to the crowd from a nearby sidewalk.
Kathy Mazzuca, 67, of nearby Liverpool, New York, said she came to hear the president speak.
“He has a lot to tell us about the economy, about the war,” Mazzuca said. “I would like to know about the November elections, if we’re close, because we hear different pollings.”
She also said she donated to Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman’s campaign so she’d like to hear him speak as well.
“I hope he wins,” Mazzuca added.
“I’ve just had enough of Kathy Hochul, to be honest with you,” she continued. “She’s just right in with the socialism. It’s not a Democrat Party anymore and people have got to wake up and really do research ... Kathy Hochul is raising our taxes, and it’s unfair to the senior citizens, especially.”
As country music played nearby, Andrea Anderson, 62, and her daughter Emily Anderson, 21, said they drove over from Rochester to attend the rally.
“I’m just here because I’m a history major at college, and I just wanted to see a live president, whether I like them or dislike them,” Emily said.
As for Andrea? She said she’s “here for the entertainment.”
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Inside President Donald Trump's rally in Syracuse, New York
