Trump Campaigns for Tax Law in New York District

President Donald Trump spoke Friday at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York, to promote the tax law he signed last year. The appearance came in a competitive congressional district represented by Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who faces reelection in November.

Trump opened the event by discussing voter identification, crime, transgender women in sports and a new label for Democrats before turning to taxes. He told the audience that Republicans cut taxes on workers, families and small businesses while Democrats opposed the measures. “I cut your taxes, cut the taxes on workers, families, small business, who are the soul of this state,” Trump said.

The law quadrupled the state and local tax deduction to $40,000, a change Lawler helped negotiate. Lawler said more than 90 percent of residents in his district can now fully deduct those taxes and that average refunds for New Yorkers rose above $3,800. “My constituents were seeing anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 refund checks, which is pretty massive,” Lawler said.

U.S. adults, down from 40 percent at the start of his second term, according to a new AP-NORC poll. Gasoline prices have risen this year amid the war in Iran. Lawler told The Associated Press he believes the president’s appearance will energize Republican voters without harming his own support among moderates.

” — Rep. Mike Lawler, May 22, 2026 (AP) National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Richard Hudson said Trump’s poll numbers remain favorable in the district. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Riya Vashi criticized the visit, saying it showed a lack of understanding of local economic concerns.

Five Democrats are seeking their party’s nomination to challenge Lawler; the primary is June 23.