With former President Donald Trump holding a major fundraiser for New York’s Republican candidate for governor, Lee Zeldin, over the weekend, the former president became a hot topic of debate on the campaign trail Tuesday.

Zeldin’s rival, Gov. Kathy Hochul was at Penn Station on Tuesday to talk about a new and improved transit corridor, but questions about Trump and his support for Zeldin quickly derailed the conversation.

“People in New York understand our values and Donald Trump never has and never will represent them,” Hochul said. “And to the extent that my political opponent wants to be so closely associated in relying on him for the resources, it’s troubling, but it’s something that the voters I guarantee you will be taking note of.”


What You Need To Know

  • Former President Donald Trump held a fundraiser for Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin this past weekend

  • Hochul said Zeldin will have to explain the move to voters, arguing Trump is out of step with New York values

  • Zeldin said Tuesday he would consider campaigning with Trump

The fundraiser over the weekend also led to posts offering praise for Zeldin by former Trump advisors Steve Bannon and Jason Miller on social media.

Steve Bannon praising Lee Zeldin on Gettr
(Gettr)
(Gettr)

At his own Tuesday press conference, Zeldin was asked if he plans to campaign with Trump.

“That is something that we might do. If we were to do an event, it likely would be an event that would be in some of the areas where he and I have had the most amount of support,” Zeldin says.

Hochul also has a new ad targeting Zeldin for objecting to certifying the election results from Arizona and Pennsylvania following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

“On the day our Capitol was attacked, a day that lead to the deaths of five brave police officers, Zeldin still voted to overturn the election,” a narrator said in the ad.

Zeldin argued New Yorkers are concerned with issues like the economy, not the former president.

“Kathy Hochul can air as many ads as she wants about Donald Trump. And ‘orange man bad.’ But our focus is on the breaking point of the New York individual, the family, the New York business, the New York community that is dying right now,” Zeldin said.

Zeldin represents part of Long Island in Congress and, if he is going to prevail in November, he will need to draw a lot of votes from that part of the state. That may help explain why Hochul was highlighting what the state and MTA is doing for Long Island commuters with the opening of the new Penn Station corridor.