UNIONDALE, N.Y. (1010 WINS) – Donald Trump is set to hold a large rally at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday evening—his first major campaign event since the second apparent assassination attempt on him this summer. While New York leans heavily Democratic, polls show voters on Long Island are more receptive to Trump, and the GOP is vying to win down-ballot races, including for control of the U.S. House, come November.
HERE’S THE LATEST:
7 p.m. -- Trump takes the podium to kick off rally
5:30 p.m. -- In interview with Fox, Trump says he hopes to win New York
Before heading to his evening rally in Nassau County, Trump spoke with Fox News as he made a campaign stop at a cryptocurrency-themed bar called Pubkey in the West Village. The former president posted a clip of the interview on Truth Social, stating: "I LOVE NEW YORK—WE’RE GOING TO MAKE NEW YORK GREAT AGAIN!"
While speaking with reporters, Trump expressed his desire to win New York state in the 2024 presidential election, noting that it hasn't been won by the GOP candidate in a long time. With New York being his home state, Trump identified himself as the one to win, saying that he is “a Republican who loves it, who lived here for many many years.”
In the interview, Trump made claims that there has been an influx of "hundreds of thousands of people coming from prisons and jails and mental institutions [being] dumped into New York." He identified it as a reason why he could win.
"You see the crowds and it’s so friendly. I love New York but New York has a lot of problems, and we’re going to make New York great again also, we’re going to bring it back. And we’re going to hopefully win," Trump said.
1:30 p.m. -- NY State Police assisting NCPD, US Secret Service
New York State Police said they're assisting the Nassau County Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service with security at the Coliseum. This comes after authorities said "false" reports of an explosive began circulating online--claims were shared widely on X by a number of prominent accounts, including that of the company’s owner, Elon Musk.
11:30 a.m. -- Anti-Trump protests planned near Nassau Coliseum
A "Free Speech Zone" has been set up outside the Nassau Coliseum for several protests related to Trump's rally. The Nassau County Democrats have planned a noon rally with state Democratic Chair Jay Jacobs and other officials, hoping to bring out hundreds of residents opposed to "Trump's extremism."
Nassau County Legislator Carrié Solages also planned to join a coalition of Haitian Americans in the Free Speech Zone to condemn "racist remarks made by Trump and Senator J.D. Vance in which they falsely accused Haitians in Springfield, Ohio of eating people’s pets." The group is demanding a "formal apology from the Trump campaign as well as a restatement of the true facts," said Solages, who is the first Haitian American elected to the legislature.
Solages posted on X that he'd been told by law enforcement that Trump supporters had been "drinking over the night" and urged protesters to "engage in non violence and not respond."
11:15 a.m. -- Nassau PD says 'reports of explosives' are 'unfounded'
Nassau County police said "reports of explosives being found at the site are unfounded."
"There is a person who is being questioned who may have been training a bomb detection dog near the site," police said in an emailed statement. "The individual with the bomb dog falsely reported explosives being found and
that individual is currently being detained by police."
Lt. Scott Skrynecki, a spokesperson for the county police, said in follow-up messages that the person, who police have not yet identified, was a civilian and not a member of a law enforcement agency. He also said the person was not working at or affiliated with the event.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said Monday that the department is prepared for the rally—and he brought a show of force that included helicopters, armored cars, and officers on horseback and wearing tactical gear. “This will be the safest place in the country,” he said.
Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman also said it would be all-hands-on-deck for the event, with every unit in the police department fully activated.
“Operation Overwatch will be in effect, our intelligence center will be fully staffed,” Blakeman said Monday, adding the county had devoted a “tremendous amount of assets, a small army.”
11 a.m. – Photos show crowd outside Nassau Coliseum
A crowd was growing outside Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday morning, with tens of thousands of Trump supporters expected for the former president's rally later in the day. Some people arrived early on Tuesday--sleeping in their cars overnight--as space in the arena will be limited. One supporter described the energy as "electric" and another said she wouldn't "miss it for anything."
10:45 a.m. – Long Island may be key for control of US House
Trump is heading to Uniondale, an area that could be key to his party maintaining control of the U.S. House.
The GOP is trying to protect 18 Republicans in Democratic-heavy congressional districts that Joe Biden carried in 2020, particularly in coastal New York and California, and going on offense to challenge Democrats elsewhere.
Long Island features one of the most closely watched races, between first-term Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito and Democrat Laura Gillen. D’Esposito is a former NYPD detective who won in 2022 in a district that Biden won by about 15 percentage points in 2020.
The rally is Trump's first on Long Island since 2017.
10:30 a.m. – Overflow crowd expected at Nassau Coliseum
Droves of Trump supporters were arriving at Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday morning after the campaign said more than 60,000 tickets were requested for the rally. The stadium only holds 16,000 people, so the overflow crowd will have to watch the rally on large screens outside the arena in a tailgate setting.
10 a.m. – Trump predicts GOP can win NY
Trump posted Tuesday on his Truth Social platform that the GOP has “a real chance of winning” New York “for the first time in many decades."
"Nassau Coliseum, on Long Island, will be a really big deal tomorrow. It will be PACKED with Patriots," he wrote.
In the post, Trump also pledged that he would “get SALT back,” suggesting he would eliminate a cap on state and local tax deductions that were part of tax cut legislation he signed into law in 2017.
The so-called SALT cap has led to bigger tax bills for many residents of New York, New Jersey, California and other high-cost, high-tax states, and is an important campaign issue in those states, particularly among those New York Republicans serving in districts Biden won.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.