UNIONDALE, N.Y.—Former President Donald Trump on Sept. 18 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.
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, and it has only increased with the Florida incident.
“It was terrible. It was horrible,” attendee Ariel Kohan said when asked about the recent attempt on Trump’s life.
In the opening of his speech, Trump praised the agent who first noticed the suspected would-be assassin, as well as the woman whose photos 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.
“God has now spared my life ... not once, but twice,” he said.
New York last voted for a Republican presidential candidate in 1984.
“What do you have to lose?” Trump said at the rally.
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.
Also earlier that the day, the 1.3 million member Teamsters Union announced that it wouldn’t make an endorsement for president, for the first time since 1966.
Make 9/11 Memorial a National Monument
Trump said that he would designate Ground Zero, the site of the 9/11 attack 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.
Last week, Trump attended a memorial service at the site, marking the 23rd anniversary of the attack. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also in attendance.
Trump Promises to Restore SALT Deduction
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 taxable income. 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.
‘Trump Reciprocal Trade Act’
At the rally, Trump also announced legislation he would pursue if reelected, called the Trump Reciprocal Trade Act.The proposal wraps in many of Trump’s criticisms of current U.S. trade policy. He said the bill would have the United States 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.”
