Former President Donald Trump called Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman just before he took the stage at the New York State Conservative Party conference in Albany, giving the Republican gubernatorial hopeful an extra burst of momentum before he took the stage as keynote speaker.
Blakeman opened his remarks by recounting the early start to his day, waking up around 5 a.m., checking text messages, returning briefly to sleep, then diving into calls, emails and campaign work.
“Around 9:15, I get a call from President Trump,” Blakeman told the cheering crowd. “So the president says, ‘How’s it going, Bruce? How’s the campaign? We need you to do this.’ And I said, ‘Well, Mr. President, in I am going to speak to the conservatives of New York State who supported you 1,000% every time you ran.’”
Blakeman said he was honored that Conservatives will nominate him in the coming weeks as their choice for Governor, and he praised the party as a driving force in Republican politics.
“The Conservative Party is the conscience of the Republican Party,” he said, drawing applause. “The Conservative Party makes sure we stay on the right track.”
Blakeman, who has traveled across New York for years as both a businessman and candidate, said the mood in the state has shifted dramatically since the days of former Governor George Pataki.
“When Governor Pataki was Governor, people were generally happy,” Blakeman said. “But now, as I travel around the state running for Governor, it’s a different feel. People are miserable with Kathy Hochul’s leadership.”
He accused Hochul of making New York the most overtaxed and overregulated state in the nation, driving hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses to more affordable states like Florida, Texas and the Carolinas.
“We need a Governor who’s going to cut taxes, cut regulations, be business friendly, create jobs, create prosperity,” Blakeman said. “That’s how you make it affordable.”
Blakeman also sharply criticized Hochul’s spending on illegal migrants, claiming billions of taxpayer dollars have been diverted away from hospitals, infrastructure and education.
“She gave it away,” he said. “That is a disgrace.”
Blakeman closed by promising that if elected, he would restore economic opportunity, improve safety and “make New York the Empire State again,” while insisting bluntly that “Hochul must go.”