UNIONDALE, N.Y. (1010 WINS) – Nassau County is preparing for Donald Trump’s large rally on Wednesday evening—his first large public event since another apparent attempt on his life in Florida on Sunday.
Vincent Franco is among the Trump supporters who already have their tickets for the rally at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale. He’s attended well over a dozen of the former president’s rallies this year and planned to be at the Coliseum a day early.
“We’re here to support him and make sure no harm comes to him,” Franco said Monday. “We’re his protectors.”
“I’m not afraid of nothing, I’ll jump in front of a bullet for him,” he said.
Franco predicted security would be ten-fold for the rally, given recent events.
“Especially on the second attempt, I mean it’s going to be a madhouse,” Franco said. “They’re going to be protecting him left and right. And that’s what he deserves.”
Trump wasn’t injured Sunday when a man with a rifle camped outside his West Palm Beach club as the former president golfed. A Secret Service agent saw the rifle in some bushes and opened fire, authorities said, before the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, was taken into custody.
The investigation is ongoing, but the FBI previously said it “appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.”
Sunday's scare came about two months after the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 left an audience member dead and several people wounded, including Trump, who was shot in the ear.
The Nassau rally will follow two May rallies in the Bronx and Wildwood, New Jersey. While Democrats have a strong advantage in the presidential election in New York, polling shows Long Islanders are more receptive to Trump overall, and the GOP nominee has said he wants to flip the state red.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said Monday that the department is prepared—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,” Ryder said.
Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said it will 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, adding the county had devoted a “tremendous amount of assets, a small army.”
Blakeman said “this isn’t our first rodeo” and that the county has protected everything from presidential debates and the U.S. Open to leaders like Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who was on Long Island a few days ago.
Heavy traffic is expected around the Coliseum for the duration of the event, which begins at 3 p.m. and lasts well into the evening, with Trump set to deliver remarks at 7 p.m.
Democratic Nassau County Legislature Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton wishes the county would have let people know sooner about Hempstead Turnpike being closed.
“I could really see this being a commuter nightmare, as well as people who have to get to that area—they have no option,” DeRiggi-Whitton said.
Residents who live in the area said they expect a hectic day.
One resident, Claudeen, said she's worried and concerned. “I’ll probably stay inside,” she said.
Meanwhile, Nassau County Democrats planned a rally at 12 p.m. Wednesday with state Democratic Chair Jay Jacobs and other officials, hoping to bring out hundreds of residents opposed to "Trump's extremism."
The rally will be held in a "Free Speech Zone" outside Nassau Coliseum, organizers said. A release for the event reads, "As Long Island faces challenges such as high property taxes and increasing costs of living, local leaders and voters are standing together to highlight how Trump and local Republicans' shift towards extremism leaves behind the priorities of suburban families. This event will underscore the need for responsible, centrist leadership that addresses the real concerns of Long Island residents."