Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump gave Nassau County GOP leaders some credit Wednesday for his campaign’s unexpected success.
Speaking to about 3,000 GOP donors at the county party’s annual Patriots’ Reception fundraiser, Trump said his New York primary win last month was a major turning point for his campaign and that the state could be a linchpin in the general election
“If we win New York State, the election’s over,” he said.
He credited his Nassau County primary victory with 67.5 percent of the votes to Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Mondello, who endorsed him March.
Because he is known best here, a loss in New York’s April 19 primary would have led to questions his campaign’s longevity, said Trump, speaking the day after victories in Nebraska and West Virginia.
But his 35-percent win over second-place Ohio Gov. John Kasich helped carry him to victories in five northeastern states the following week, he said, and ultimately led him to be the last Republican standing.
Kasich and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Trump’s other rival, both dropped out last week after the Queens native won Indiana’s primary.
“Who would’ve thought this was going to happen?” Trump said. “The polls just came out … we’re leading everything now. I don’t know what happened.”
He cited a Reuters poll published Wednesday that shows him barely trailing Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton with 41 percent to 40 percent; 19 percent said they were undecided.
The crowd booed loudly when Trump mentioned Clinton, a former New York senator who won the state’s Democratic primary by more than 15 percent,
Trump blasted Clinton, saying she wants to spend money taking in immigrants refugees that he would use to rebuild infrastructure while building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico and tightening border security.
“We can’t take care of our own people and she wants to spend billions and billions on new people coming in,” Trump said.
His wall would assuage the heroin epidemic on Long Island and elsewhere by slowing the flow of drugs into the U.S., he said.
He also pledged to rebuild the economy by imposing tariffs on foreign imports, remove Common Core education standards and appoint conservative judges to the Supreme Court.
“That’s going to be so important, because if Hillary gets in, she will appoint some liberal (justices) — your country will never be the same,” he said.
Trump’s appearance at the $200-a-ticket Nassau County Republican Committee fundraiser marked his return to Long Island after drawing more than 10,000 people to an April 6 rally in Bethpage and speaking at Suffolk County Republican Committee fundraiser April 14.
Trump said he spoke often with U.S. Sen. Alfonse D’Amato for advice in his campaign’s early stages, he said, only to see him endorse Kasich.
“But I think, really, he’s supporting me,” Trump said. “You know one thing, now he’s supporting me.”
Nassau County Legislator Rich Nicolello, a New Hyde Park Republican, said Trump’s speech felt like a “victory lap” before he pivots fully to the general election.
Nicolello said he thinks Trump’s appearance was proof that Mondello’s early endorsement of him was a “brilliant” move despite the risks of his campaign fizzling at the time.
“He was on to something,” Nicolello said. “There’s a grassroots movement to support the guy.”
Past events drew more than 100 protestors each, but only two showed up Wednesday, Nassau County Police Department spokesman Deteceive Lt. Richard LeBrun said.
There was a heavy security presence — a police helicopter flew overhead and all guests had to go through metal detectors before entering.
