Trump Rallies On Long Island

NY Times Photo

With New York now the focus of all the 2016 presidential candidates, Donald Trump headed to Long Island Wednesday evening to rally his supporters in his home state.

As CBS2’s Lou Young reported, the politics were high-decibel at the Grumman Studios on South Oyster Bay Road in Bethpage, and the crowd was near capacity in the cavernous building. Police told CBS2 just under 10,000 people showed up to the rally, though Trump made mention of 17,000.

The crowd cheered as Trump raised his voice triumphantly.

“We’re going to start winning again, folks,” Trump said. “Going to happen. Going to happen. Going to happen.”

He added: “We’re going to rebuild our military… nobody is going to mess with us! We’re going to knock the hell out of ISIS.”

But nothing got the crowd going more than the candidate’s words on immigration.

“We are going to have a strong border. We are going to build the wall,” Trump said.

Indeed, “build the wall” was the mantra two weeks shy of the New York primary, as Trump continued to run as an outsider.


As WCBS 880 AM’s Peter Haskell reported, Trump also slammed GOP opponent Ted Cruz – who was campaigning in the Bronx earlier in the day. He also slammed Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

“You know lying Ted Cruz came today, he couldn’t draw 100 people — 100 people. How bad is Hillary? How bad?”

Reuters Photo

Meanwhile, protesters gathered outside the Grumman Studios as Trump spoke.


“His lack of understanding about the world and the economy and how it works,” one anti-Trump demonstrator said. “His message of hate for Muslims, for immigrants, for women, is not acceptable.”

But there were also some supporters outside the rally, WCBS 880’s Mike Xirinachs reported.

“He is uniquely qualified for the position and I think he’s the only one that we can trust,” a woman said.

But as CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported, the loss hardly dampened the enthusiasm of Trump supporters, many of whom arrived at the rally well ahead of time.