UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Former President Donald Trump basked in the adulation of thousands of supporters on Long Island Wednesday night — insisting that recent attempts to kill him had “hardened my resolve” and predicting he would be the first Republican candidate to win New York state in 40 years.
“These encounters with death have not broken my will,” the Republican presidential nominee, 78, told roughly 16,000 fans at the Nassau Coliseum three days after a gunman was found hiding in the bushes of Trump’s namesake Florida golf course as he played a round.
“They have really given me a much bigger and stronger mission. They’ve only hardened my resolve to use my time on Earth to make America great again for all Americans, to put America first,” added Trump, whose ear was also grazed by a would-be assassin’s bullet at a July 13 rally in Pennsylvania.
“It was the second one in eight weeks by a violent radical-left mobster,” the ex-president said of the latest attempt on his life.
“This evil would-be assassin got within a few — 100 yards of where I stood. But thankfully, our outstanding Secret Service agent, and they are outstanding, spotted the barrel of his rifle in the bushes. Can you believe that?”
“The reason I’m here,” Trump reminded the roaring crowd, was because “we are going to win New York.”
“That’s the first time in many, many years that a Republican can honestly say it, and we’re going to do it,” added Trump, who made a similar claim in 2020 before losing to then-Democratic nominee Joe Biden by more than 23 percentage points.
“We have to do it. We do it, and the election nationwide is over. We take over the White House and we fix up our country,” the ex-president said to the crowd of New Yorkers and residents of nearby states.
At least one woman got a little too caught up in the moment, flashing her bare breasts while jumping around in the stands — before she was escorted out by police.
“I say to the people of New York: With crime at record levels, with terrorists and criminals pouring in and with inflation eating your hearts out, vote for Donald Trump! What the hell do you have to lose?” he said, repeating questions he had asked to black voters and other traditionally Democrat-leaning demographics.
Of illegal immigrants in the Empire State, Trump said, “You got to get rid of these people. Give me a shot, you will have a safe New York within three months … for every New Yorker being terrorized by this wave of migrant crime, November 5 will be your liberation day because you are living like hell.”
The Post overheard attendees saying Trump has to win the election but they fear Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, will somehow win in the end.
One of the rallygoers was superfan Marlene Lowe, 48, of Harrison, NY, who came decked out in white cowboy boots, denim shorts and a T-shirt that said “Yes, I’m a Trump Girl – Get Over It!”
“He’s hanging in there for us. It’s the least we can do for him. The man gets shot once, almost shot a second time, and he doesn’t miss a beat. Of course I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to see him up close in person. Maybe I can get him to sign my hat,” she said.
Patrick Hill, 28, of Cherry Hill, NJ, told The Post that Trump “should have been dead twice, but here he is again. The man cannot be killed. Trump lives!
“Now let’s help him take this country back again and seal the border and undo the damage Biden wreaked on us over the past three-plus years.”
In a moment of apparent goodwill, Trump vowed not to hold a grudge against New York for its officials prosecuting him in civil and criminal cases so that they could work together to improve the quality of life in the Empire State.
“Despite all of the persecution I’ve endured from the corrupt judicial system in New York,” added Trump, who was convicted May 30 of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments, “I love the people of this state and I want to give back.”
“I’m going to reduce your taxes, reduce your crime and reduce your levels of stress,” he went on.
“The only thing that I will increase are your incomes and your love for your state will come roaring back.”
The Republican boasted of polls released Wednesday afternoon by the Teamsters union showing that nearly 60% of the union’s members supported his candidacy against Harris.
“I was honored to receive the endorsement of the rank and file membership of the Teamsters. I love the Teamsters,” said Trump.
Typically, he said, “it’s automatic, they endorse the Democrats, automatic — for many, many decades. But you know what? They looked at [Harris], they said, ‘We’re not going there, I’m sorry.’ These are tough people.”
Trump used the speech to bash Harris’ performance on issues including the US-Mexico border — while entertaining his audience by admitting he hadn’t read his wife’s forthcoming new memoir “Melania” because he was “so busy” and that ” if she says bad things about me, I’ll call you all up and I’ll say, ‘Don’t buy it.’”
The 45th president also announced that he was preparing to visit Aurora, Colo., where Venezuelan gang members have intimidated residents, and Springfield, Ohio, which has been inundated by Haitian migrants, whom Trump incorrectly said have been eating cats and dogs.
Trump, who is in a close race against Harris in national and swing-state polls, at one point cited a survey showing him up 5% and opened that “we should be 35 up, to be honest with you. Some people can’t break an old habit. That’s really what it is.”
“God has now spared my life — it must have been God, thank you — not once but twice,” Trump said.
“We’re gonna have the greatest win in history while we pull this one off. It will be legendary..”