Trump holds rally on Long Island; 1st since 2nd assassination attempt
LONG ISLAND - Former President Donald Trump held a rally at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island – his first rally since a second apparent assassination attempt against him.
Republican officials said they received around 60,000 requests for tickets, but only a quarter of that number of people got inside – those who didn't get in are watching on giant monitors outside the Uniondale venue. This morning, SkyFOX captured thousands already in the parking lot before the rally even started.
Crowds gathered for Trump's Long Island rally
Crowds gathered on Long Island for Trump's rally on Wednesday. More than 60,000 tickets were requested for Donald Trump's rally. The Nassau Coliseum's arena is only able to hold 16,000. Counter-protests also happened while crowds were waiting for Trump. FOX 5 NY's Jessica Formoso has more on the crowds and protests.
Security was extraordinarily tight, especially after two apparent assassination attempts on the former president in the span of a little more than two months. Law enforcement officials worked quickly on to publicly knock down social media posts falsely reporting that explosives had been found in a car nearby.
The rally is Trump's first on Long Island, since 2017.
What happened at the rally?
Trump, for his part, leaned heavily on his alarmist message on immigration as he held a rally in Uniondale on New York's Long Island, focusing the bulk of his remarks on the subject.
"We’re just destroying the fabric of life in our country. And we’re not going to take it any longer. And you got to get rid of these people. Give me a shot," Trump said.
He ripped into Democratic leadership in New York City and state, blaming them for homeless people living in what he called "horrible, disgusting, dangerous, filthy encampments," and even the conditions on the New York City subway, which he called "squalid and unsafe" and promised to renovate.
"What the hell do you have to lose?" he said in asking for their votes.
Before heading out to the suburbs, Trump stopped at a Bitcoin cafe in New York City. Trump has recently embraced cryptocurrency and on Monday night helped launch his family's new cryptocurrency venture.
Trump has focused on immigration as a top campaign issue and made it a key focus of his remarks Wednesday.
"Look at what's happening," he told his crowd in New York. "Businesses that are fleeing, money draining out of your state and hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants sucking your public resources dry."
Trump said he plans in the next two weeks to visit Springfield, Ohio, that’s been the center of false accusations from the former president and his running mate JD Vance that members of the city’s Haitian community are abducting and eating cats and dogs. Trump also said he plans to visit Aurora, Colorado, where he says a Venezuelan street gang with a small presence in the city has taken over a rundown apartment complex. Aurora police say that’s not the case.
He has an advantage over Harris in opinion polling on whom voters trust to better handle the issue.
Trump assassination attempt in Florida
On Monday, the Martin County Sheriff's Office released body cam video of Ryan Routh, the alleged suspect in the Trump assassination attempt, being taken into custody.
Investigators said the former president was the target of an assassination attempt while he was golfing at his golf course on Sunday in West Palm Beach.
U.S. Secret Service agents fired at a man who pointed an AK-style rifle with a scope through a chain-linked fence. Local authorities said the gunman was about 400 yards to 500 yards away from Trump and hiding in shrubbery.
- MORE: Trump's apparent assassination attempt at Florida golf course: What we know so far
- MORE: Body cam video shows deputies arresting Ryan Routh, alleged suspect in Trump assassination attempt
Trump was not injured and the suspect who ran off was later identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh. A witness at the golf course took photos of Routh's vehicle and license plate.
He was arrested not long after authorities put out a "very urgent" alert. Routh was pulled over on Interstate 95 in Martin County by deputies.
Why Long Island?
In 2020, President Joe Biden defeated Trump by a roughly 4% margin on Long Island, besting him in Nassau County by about 60,000 votes, though Trump carried neighboring Suffolk County by more than 200 votes.
However, the area could be key to his party maintaining control of the House. His party is trying to protect 18 Republicans in Democratic-heavy congressional districts Joe Biden carried in 2020.
The Associated Press wire services contributed to this report.