Watch: DeSantis Lambastes 'Woke' New York Leftists at Long Island Rally, Met with Thunderous Applause
In the final stretch to the long-awaited 2022 midterms, Democratic and Republican candidates are calling in heavy hitters from their respective parties with the hopes of an 11th-hour boost just before Election Day.
According to the New York Post, New York GOP gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin, a New York lawmaker, brought conservative powerhouse Gov. Ron DeSantis all the way from Florida to a campaign event on Long Island to help him seal the deal with prospective voters, and Zeldin’s supporters loved it.
In true DeSantis form, he held nothing back as he excoriated woke New York progressives for their dangerous and deadly soft-on-crime policies and their push to defund law enforcement.
“The crime problem has been totally self-inflicted — you cut police budgets, you do things like eliminate cash bail and you have rogue prosecutors who won’t even enforce laws that they agree with — of course you’re going to have streets that are less safe,” DeSantis said. “Of course you are going to have people that aren’t able to do the basics without fearing for their safety.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been at the center of some of the national stories regarding Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies that seem to correlate with a nationwide spike in crime. Bragg made headlines shortly after taking office this year when he announced his office wouldn’t prosecute various “low-level” offenses, CBS News reported.
“Stop turning [criminals] loose on the street. They’ll commit a crime, and they put them right back out,” DeSantis continued. “Stop releasing people early from prison. If you do the crime, you must do the time.”
DeSantis elicited several rounds of wild, thunderous applause and cheers as he assailed New York Democrats over the decisions and policies they’ve made that have led to the current crime wave in the city.
DeSantis sticks the landing for Zeldin. pic.twitter.com/Ls00YuRyuH
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) October 30, 2022
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“We stand up for the people of law enforcement, the people that wear the uniform. We’ve got their back. You didn’t see me marching two years ago attacking law enforcement, not in the state of Florida,” the Republican governor said.
DeSantis, throughout his appearance, drove home the point that Zeldin will take a vastly different approach to the soaring crime problem in the state, especially in New York City.
“We need to focus more on supporting the rights of the victims of crime and not be so concerned with the rights of the criminal. Lee Zeldin will not coddle these people. He will hold them accountable, and you will be safer as a result.”
The Sunshine State’s governor assured the crowd that under Zeldin’s leadership, New York would focus on becoming like Florida: a law-and-order state where criminals are held accountable for their actions.
The anti-crime messaging is crucial, as the topic usually sits at the top of most polls when voters from both parties are asked what issues matter most to them this year.
Violent Crime: 81% of Democrats say this issue will be important to their upcoming vote.
Story – https://t.co/i1F4TFoiBn
“Voting my safety and my financial security. Don’t let #NYC turn into #SanFrancisco #democratsforLeeZeldin @RepLeeZeldin but @TishJames I got you” https://t.co/mzQmPPQ8qW
— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) October 30, 2022
Whether or not DeSantis’ boost for Zeldin helps him to a victory is yet to be seen, but the most recent polling data suggests that incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul’s lead on Zeldin is narrowing.
According to The Hill, a new Emerson College Polling-Pix11-The Hill survey, Hochul received 50 percent of support from likely voters in the state to Zeldin’s 44 percent, with 4 percent still undecided. That marked a nine-point jump for Zeldin within one month.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
