Supporters of former President Trump in New York pleaded for his return to office, telling Fox News Digital outside his Uniondale, New York, rally that immigration and crime were at the top of their minds before November.
Former President Trump returned to the deep blue state he long called home Wednesday for a rally on Long Island just days after a second assassination attempt on his life.
“The main issue for me is illegal immigration. I believe in immigration, but just not illegally,” Mary Beth O’Hare told Fox News Digital outside the Nassau Coliseum. “And I think our city in particular is being overrun with illegals, and we are eventually going to pay the price for that if we’re not already, and we see it in our own communities.
“And I also think it’s not fair to the migrants as well. I think they’re being told that they’re going to get something fantastic when they get here. And when you actually speak to them, you realize that they’re not happy either. So, all around, it’s just an unfair situation.
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“I do think New York is in need of a revival. And, as a matter of fact, I just sold my home, and we’re thinking about leaving New York as well. And it’s because you just don’t feel safe and secure here,” O’Hare added. “And it’s just gotten so expensive that you can’t see your own family being able to create a family here and continue the legacy that you started.
“I think it’s time that we figure out why it is so expensive to live here and make it more affordable for younger people.”
“First and foremost is the open border. I’ve seen Manhattan especially overcome by the illegal immigrants that have been traveling through the night on large jets and landing in our cities. I really see it in New York. And it’s not good,” Amy Hesse told Fox News Digital. “Trump is a New Yorker. That is his home. And he will turn that city around and turn the state of New York around. Go Trump 2024.”
Another Trump supporter, Tom, said immigration was one of the major issues facing New York state, where he predicted Trump was rallying not to win for himself but to generate support for GOP congressmen.
Trump supporters wait outside Nassau Coliseum before the Republican presidential nominee’s rally Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
“It’s important for the sake of Republicans maintaining the House that these moderate districts remain in Republican hands, like the ones on Long Island, the ones in the Hudson River Valley,” he told Fox News Digital. “I think this is an opportunity to get good publicity that even within the heavy blue area of the state of New York, he can still bring out crowds like this peacefully, patriotically and joyfully celebrating the day.
“I am the son of immigrants. I am proud to be the son of immigrants. And I believe that if you come into this country lawfully and want to be a part of the American dream, you are welcome,” Tom added.
“But that is not what is transpiring right now. And our cities, much less to be said in New York about this. We have had so many illegal immigrants come into this country that the infrastructure is bending. We don’t have the money to school these people properly. We don’t have the money to house these people properly. Right now, 25% of all the hotel rooms occupied in the city of New York are occupied by migrants.
“We are paying for this instead of using this money to educate our own children. Even in the inner cities, where they’re dying for additional funding for education. Instead, we’re welcoming these people in, and we don’t have any place to put them.”
A man wearing a “Jews For Trump” shirt outside the rally said he wanted to dispel the misconception that most Jews would vote for Kamala Harris, especially after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.
“If you look at everyone around you, the crime has gone up. Our cars are being broken into,” the man said. “The homes are being broken into. People are afraid to buy houses right now just because they’re afraid it’s going to be broken into. It’s not the way it was under Trump. The crime was less. The economy was better. Everything was better. There was no complaints. All the complaints we have is the crime is through the roof. The economy. We’re paying through the roof for everything right now. Vote Trump.”
Former President Trump rallies Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
He said the government has been housing a lot of migrants in his neighborhood in Queens.
“I get worried about my wife and kids a lot because of that,” he said. “Because there is crime going on. We don’t know who these migrants are. Yes, some of them could be good, but we don’t know. No one’s vetted them. And they just came into the country. We don’t know anything about them.”
“New York needs to change. You know, New York used to be so prosperous. Like, New York was the hub of the entire world in regards to finance. And now it’s just like everybody’s leaving New York. The policies are horrendous,” Nick Passino, part of a group of Trump supporters who call themselves the MAGA Boyz, told Fox News Digital.
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Passino said he and his friend, Devin Dashnaw, were in the front row of Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when the July 13 assassination attempt unfolded.
He said their group stood behind Trump at his subsequent rally in Michigan to show support. Trump is keeping up his public rally schedule after another assassination attempt while the former president was golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida, over the weekend. Passino said Trump is making a statement “that he’s willing to do whatever it takes for the American people.”
“Even though they tried to take him out like — what, a couple of days ago? — now he’s doing a rally here in New York. He’s just, you know, it’s business as usual,” Passino told Fox News Digital. “He’s not scared. He’s going to continue doing it. And, you know, MAGA. MAGA will live on no matter what.”
People arrive at Nassau Coliseum before the start of a rally featuring former President Trump Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
As for Kamala Harris, Passino said “she has no policies, and she has nothing to speak on. That’s why she always reflects back to the way she used to grow up.”
“Nobody cares how you grew up, Kamala. What are you going to do now?” he said. “I mean, we’ve already seen what you’re doing now because you’re in office, which is, you know, trash the economy, open borders. Like, it’s not going to change. It’s only going to get worse.”
Another Trump supporter, Matt, told Fox News Digital immigration was the most important issue influencing his vote given he personally knows someone who died of an accidental fentanyl overdose.
“Not even as a New Yorker, but an American as a whole,” Matt said, specifying that he’s against illegal immigration. “They’re illegal for a reason. I mean, they’re able to take jobs, but are they paying the taxes that everyone else is paying? And there’s even some reports that they’ve been able to vote in some places. So, it’s just America first.”
As for Trump still rallying, Matt said, “He’s a billionaire. He doesn’t have to be here. He could be out on a yacht wherever he wants, a cruise ship. But he’s here fighting for us. So, it means the world to everyone here.”
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Esther Rivera, who waved a “Latinos For Trump” sign outside the rally, told Fox News Digital “migrants is not a problem. Illegal immigrants is the problem.”
“Having a wall doesn’t mean don’t come in. It means knock the door first. Enter legally,” she said.
