Trump Rallies in Rockland County, Touts Tax Cuts and “Great, Big, Beautiful Bill,” Announces 9/11 Hero Medal, and Elevates Sheridan Gorman Case
President Donald Trump returned to his home state of New York on May 22, 2026, for a high-energy rally in Suffern, Rockland County, where he celebrated the SALT (state and local tax) deduction restoration in what he called the “Great, Big, Beautiful Bill,” announced record Dow Jones and S&P 500 milestones, posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 9/11 hero Welles Crowther, and spotlighted the family of Sheridan Gorman — an 18-year-old from Yorktown, New York killed in Chicago by an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant — as a centerpiece of his immigration enforcement argument. The event featured remarks from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Congressman Mike Lawler, Nassau County Executive and gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, and emotional testimony from both the Crowther and Gorman families. Assistance from Claude AI.
Participants
Donald J. Trump — 47th President of the United States
Mike Lawler — U.S. Representative, New York’s 17th Congressional District (Rockland and Westchester Counties)
Howard Lutnick — U.S. Secretary of Commerce
Bruce Blakeman — Nassau County Executive; Republican nominee for Governor of New York
Bill Pulte — Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) (introduced from stage, did not deliver remarks)
Jaxson Dart — Quarterback, New York Giants NFL franchise (present on stage; no formal remarks)
Cathy Kennedy — Retired special education teacher, Orangetown, New York (constituent testimonial)
Unidentified speaker — Small business owner, home inspector, and real estate investor (constituent testimonial)
Alison Crowther — Mother of Welles Crowther, the 9/11 hero known as “the man in the red bandanna”
Madeline Gorman — Sister of Sheridan Gorman
Jessica Gorman — Mother of Sheridan Gorman
Tom Gorman — Father of Sheridan Gorman
Anthony Constantino — Co-founder and CEO of Sticker Mule (acknowledged from stage)
State Assemblyman Mike La Petri (acknowledged from stage)
State Senator Peter Oberacker (acknowledged from stage)
Rachel Duchi (credited by Alison Crowther with initiating the Medal of Freedom process for Welles Crowther)
Setting and Atmosphere
The rally was held in Suffern, New York, in Rockland County — a suburban county just north of New York City on the west side of the Hudson River. Trump opened by acknowledging concerns about weather, declaring no weather would keep him away, and thanking Jaxson Dart, whom he called “a future Hall of Famer.” He emphasized his personal connection to New York, noting he was born and raised in New York State.
What is Rockland County? Rockland is a small but densely populated suburban county about 30 miles north of Manhattan, bordering New Jersey. It has historically been a competitive swing county. In 2024, according to Lawler’s remarks, Trump won the county — the first Republican presidential candidate to do so in over 20 years, gaining 14 points from prior cycles. Rockland is home to significant communities of Orthodox Jewish residents and a growing Latino population, and it sits within Congressman Lawler’s 17th District.
Topic 1: New York’s Political and Economic Decline — and the Road Back
Trump opened with a portrait of New York as a state being hollowed out by liberal governance, framing the rally as part of a recovery mission.
Trump described companies and wealthy residents fleeing New York for Florida, Tennessee, Texas, and the Carolinas. He argued this threatens the state’s entire fiscal foundation: “The people that pay 85 to 90 percent of your taxes are leaving. And when they go, they never come back.” He pointed to dirty streets and rising crime as symptoms of what he called “bad policies, bad politicians, and foolish radical left idiocy.”
He praised Congressman Mike Lawler as a legislative fighter and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman as the man he expects to reverse the exodus. “Bruce will go down to Florida and he’ll talk to all those companies that are leaving. He’ll get them back.” He noted that Blakeman has won Nassau County — historically a competitive but increasingly Republican county — “in record fashion” multiple times as a conservative Republican.
Trump also criticized retail theft, describing a Commerce Secretary Lutnick anecdote about watching shoppers fill duffel bags at a drugstore while clerks stood by helpless. “How do you make your money if you’ve got to open up expensive glass to give somebody a toothbrush?” He called for hard crackdowns, arguing one day of strict enforcement would eliminate the problem nationwide.
Topic 2: The SALT Deduction Restoration and the “Great, Big, Beautiful Bill”
The centerpiece policy announcement of the rally was the restoration of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction — a provision that directly benefits middle- and upper-middle-class homeowners in high-tax states like New York, New Jersey, and California.
Background: What is SALT? The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (Trump’s first-term tax legislation) capped the SALT deduction at $10,000 per year. That was a significant blow to homeowners in high-tax states, where property and income taxes routinely exceed that threshold. Restoring or expanding the cap has been a major demand from suburban lawmakers in those states, particularly Republicans representing swing districts.
Trump credited Mike Lawler — whom he called “Mr. Salt” — with relentlessly pushing to restore the deduction. “He didn’t stop. This guy was a pain in the ass,” Trump said with evident affection. “But he did it — you’re lucky to have him in this community.”
Trump said that over one million New Yorkers claim the deduction, and that this year they can write off nearly $22,000 on average, putting thousands of dollars back into their pockets. He projected that the broader package of tax cuts in what he repeatedly called the “Great, Big, Beautiful Bill” would raise incomes for New Yorkers by over $8,000 on average and boost household take-home pay by more than $12,000 while protecting over 405,000 New York jobs.
He said the typical Rockland County homeowner currently loses over $15,000 per year because of state taxes, and credited state-level officials with plans to cut those state taxes by more than half.
Trump listed the bill’s other key provisions:
- No tax on tips — workers in service industries would not pay income tax on gratuities
- No tax on overtime — hourly workers’ overtime pay would be tax-free
- No tax on Social Security — a direct benefit for retirees
- Trump accounts — automatic $1,000 contributions for every newborn child, building wealth over time
- Auto loan interest deductibility — interest payments on car loans would be tax-deductible if the vehicle is made in America
- School choice — described as “the largest ever investment in school choice”
On Democrats and taxes: Trump emphasized that “not a single Democrat in Congress voted to raise the SALT deduction,” and that Democrats voted against every element of the bill, including provisions on borders, school choice, and senior tax relief. He argued that if Democrats regain power, they will eliminate all of these deductions and raise taxes.
Constituent testimony: Trump invited Cathy Kennedy, a retired special education teacher from Orangetown, who said she saved nearly $3,000 on her taxes this year because of the SALT deduction. An unidentified small business owner (a home inspector and real estate investor) testified that the policy changes — SALT deductions and Trump accounts — allowed his family to reinvest savings directly into their two businesses and spend more time with their children.
Topic 3: Economic Claims — Markets, Jobs, and Investment
Trump offered a wide-ranging catalog of economic accomplishments and metrics.
On markets: He announced that on the day of the rally, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 50,702 — a milestone he said critics had said was impossible. The S&P 500 is “way over 7,000.” He claimed the stock market has set 68 all-time record highs during his current term, and that since his election, the market has added $9 trillion in value to savings and retirement accounts. He told the crowd that since he took office, the typical 401(k) is up more than $30,000.
On jobs and employment: Trump stated that more people are currently working in the United States than at any time in history. He said his administration has created 300,000 jobs in the last two months, and in the past 16 months has lifted nearly 5 million Americans off food stamps.
On trade: He said his tariff policy cut the U.S. trade deficit by 59 percent in one year — a number he called historic, noting that cutting it even one percent is typically considered a major achievement. He argued tariffs are forcing companies to build factories in the United States rather than importing from abroad, pointing to:
- General Motors announcing a $1 billion investment in upstate New York to manufacture V8 engines, vehicles previously built in Germany
- Chobani building a $1.2 billion dairy plant in Rome, New York — the largest investment in the company’s history
- Micron Technology investing what Trump projected could reach over $100 billion in Clay, New York
He also claimed $18 trillion in total investment is coming into the United States. Commerce Secretary Lutnick confirmed this figure from the stage, calling it “my favorite number.”
On inflation and cost of living: Trump blamed the Biden administration entirely for inflation, and argued that costs are coming down under his leadership. He described IRS tax refunds to New Yorkers this year as the largest in New York history. He predicted energy prices will “tumble” once the Iran situation is resolved.
Topic 4: Tariffs and Manufacturing Policy
Trump offered his most extended defense of tariffs as an economic tool, tracing his thinking from his first term.
“My favorite word in the whole dictionary is tariff,” he said. He acknowledged pushback from critics who asked why he prioritized tariffs over family or religion, joking: “So now I say it’s my fifth favorite word, and I get away with it.”
He explained his tariff logic simply: if a company makes its product outside the United States, it pays a tariff to sell it here, which gives companies a financial incentive to manufacture domestically instead. “So what do they do? They build their factory in the United States. And that’s what they’re doing.”
He also noted that factory construction is up, new residential construction is up, consumer spending is up, and American companies are ordering capital goods to expand operations at “the highest rate in the history of our country.”
Topic 5: The Sheridan Gorman Case and Immigration Enforcement
One of the most emotionally charged portions of the rally was devoted to the Gorman family of Westchester County. Trump introduced them as a family connected to his aide Dan Scavino, whose father is a friend of the family.
Sheridan Gorman, 18 years old, was a college student from Yorktown, New York. On March 19, 2026, she was walking on a pier in Chicago near her campus with friends, hoping to see the Northern Lights, when she was shot and killed. The alleged perpetrator is described as a Venezuelan national who entered the United States illegally, was released into the country by the Biden administration, and was subsequently arrested and released again by the administration of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker in Chicago — a sanctuary city.
Trump introduced each family member and described Sheridan as “this incredible, beautiful girl.”
Madeline Gorman (sister): “My family has laughed more, smiled more in the past hour than we have since March 19th.”
Jessica Gorman (mother): Delivered a written statement describing her Mother’s Day — two weeks before the rally — as “heartache and tears.” She said Sheridan was walking near campus to see the Northern Lights and never came home. “Every step the system had a chance to stop him, and at every step it failed. And my daughter paid for those failures with her life.” She called on mothers across the country to vote for leaders who protect children: “A city and a state or a country that does not protect its children has lost its way.”
Tom Gorman (father): “I’m not a politician. I’m not a public speaker. I’m a father whose daughter was murdered by an illegal immigrant.” He described his wife asking on Mother’s Day, through tears, “Am I still the mother of two?” He said there was no answer big enough for that pain, but told her: “Yes, Jess, you’re still the mother of two, because Sheridan will always be our daughter.” He emphasized: “We support legal immigration. Legal immigration has made America stronger.” But he drew a firm distinction between legal and criminal illegal immigration: “Borders matter, laws matter, enforcement matters. And above all, American families matter.” He called on both parties to treat protecting American families as a shared responsibility, not a partisan one.
Trump’s response: He called the case a direct consequence of open borders and said the suspect “came through open borders — nobody checked him, totally unvetted.” He noted that just the previous day, the New York State legislature passed a budget with provisions blocking federal immigration enforcement, calling it a “deadly sanctuary state.” He endorsed Bruce Blakeman’s vow to reverse those policies as governor, and called for abolishing sanctuary cities nationwide.
Context: Sanctuary cities and immigration enforcement. A “sanctuary” jurisdiction is one that limits its cooperation with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Trump has long opposed these policies, arguing they allow dangerous individuals to remain free when federal authorities could otherwise detain or deport them. Democrats and immigrant advocacy groups argue these policies are necessary to build trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement. The Trump administration has pursued multiple legal and legislative avenues to penalize sanctuary jurisdictions.
On border results: Trump argued his administration achieved “zero illegal aliens admitted into the United States in the last 12 months” and claimed 2025 saw the largest single-year drop in the murder rate since records began around 1900. He also said fentanyl crossing the land border is down 59 percent and fentanyl coming by sea is down 97 percent.
Topic 6: Posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom for Welles Crowther
Trump announced that Welles Crowther — a 24-year-old volunteer firefighter and equities trader from Rockland County who died on September 11, 2001, after heroically guiding at least 18 people to safety in the World Trade Center — will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.
Who was Welles Crowther? Crowther is known as “the man in the red bandanna.” After the South Tower was struck on 9/11, Crowther — who was working on the 104th floor — repeatedly descended into smoke and fire to rescue survivors, wearing a red bandanna he had carried since childhood. He is credited with saving at least 18 lives. His story was uncovered over Memorial Day weekend 2002 through reporting in The New York Times. He was 24 years old when he died. Rockland County was his home.
Trump said the award was made at the request of Congressman Lawler, Bruce Blakeman, and other local officials, and was timed to approach the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001.
Alison Crowther (mother) was present and spoke from the stage, crediting Rachel Duchi with initiating the Medal of Freedom process. She spoke movingly of Welles’s legacy: “Even 25 years later, Wells’ light still shines brightly.” She described traveling across the country and internationally — including to Amman, Jordan — to speak about her son’s story and the example of courage and humanity he set for young people: “As I travel and speak to children, they’re tremendously moved and inspired by this to be better people.”
Trump described the Medal of Freedom as “the highest award outside of the Congressional Medal of Honor” and praised Alison Crowther for raising her son.
Topic 7: Iran, Military Operations, and Foreign Policy
Trump offered a brief but sweeping account of military and foreign policy achievements.
On Iran: He said Iran’s navy is “gone,” its air force is “gone,” and its leadership is “gone.” He referenced “Operation Epic Fury” as the administration’s action to address Iran as “the world’s number one state sponsor of terror,” and said flatly: “They’re never going to have a nuclear weapon.” He said resolution of the Iran situation is imminent and will cause energy prices — and therefore the overall cost of living — to drop significantly: “You’re going to see numbers like you’ve never seen, both on the upside and also in terms of costs.”
He said he made the decision to pursue action against Iran at a moment of economic optimism — while the Dow had just hit 50,000 — telling his team: “Iran is going to have a nuclear weapon if we don’t stop them. And I said, we’re going to have to do it.”
On Venezuela: He referenced successful operations in Venezuela and said revenues recovered from Venezuelan oil operations had covered the cost of U.S. military action there “about 25 times over.”
On China: Trump said he had recently returned from a meeting with President Xi Jinping, calling Xi “a good man” while noting he would “get killed” for saying so. He said even Xi acknowledged the strength of the U.S. military.
On military investment: Trump said the administration has made the “largest ever investment in the U.S. military,” with $1.5 trillion committed.
Topic 8: Housing Policy
Trump outlined a three-pronged approach to housing affordability.
First, he signed an executive order banning large Wall Street investment firms from purchasing single-family homes — a policy aimed at reducing competition between institutional investors and individual homebuyers.
Second, he directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the government-sponsored mortgage enterprises) to purchase $200 billion in mortgage bonds, which he said would push interest rates down significantly. He introduced Bill Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, from the stage as the official implementing that directive.
Third, he expressed support for a bipartisan housing bill that passed the House during the week of the rally — described as the “Help Now” bill championed by Congressman Lawler. He also announced that Kevin Warsh was sworn in as Federal Reserve Chair on the day of the rally, expressing confidence that Warsh will help bring interest rates down.
However, Trump was emphatic about the ultimate driver of housing costs: “Housing is all about interest rates. I know more about housing than anybody in history. You get the interest rates down, everybody’s going to be very, very happy.”
Topic 9: Drug Prices and the “Most Favored Nation” Policy
Trump described a major shift in U.S. pharmaceutical pricing policy under what he called the “Most Favored Nation” agreement — under which the United States would pay the lowest drug price offered to any nation in the world.
He illustrated the current disparity with a personal anecdote: a friend of his (unnamed) purchased an injectable weight-loss medication (likely Ozempic or a similar GLP-1 drug) in London for $87, while the same drug cost him $1,300 in New York City two weeks earlier. Trump said this price gap has now been addressed by the Most Favored Nation policy.
He claimed drug prices are now down 80 to 90 percent from prior levels for affected medications — a dramatic contrast to his first term, when he said he celebrated when prices dropped by “one eighth of a point” for the first time in 28 years. He expressed frustration that the press is not covering what he called a historic achievement: “I think that alone should win the midterms.”
Topic 10: Deregulation — Appliances, EVs, Refrigerants, and the “Green New Scam”
Trump described a series of regulatory rollbacks he argued would lower costs for American families.
He said his administration has terminated the Biden-era electric vehicle mandate that would have required the majority of new cars sold to be electric by 2030. He acknowledged supporting electric vehicles as a concept but argued the infrastructure doesn’t exist: “Not everybody wants to have an electric car, and I ended that whole nonsense.”
He said the administration eliminated “efficiency” rules on water heaters, stoves, washers, dryers, and light bulbs — regulations he called the “Green New Scam” — saving Americans an average of $3,250.
He also described eliminating a Biden-era regulation on refrigerants used in air conditioners and refrigerators, arguing the required alternative refrigerant costs twice as much and doesn’t cool effectively: “You will now be able to purchase an air conditioner that actually gives you cold air.”
Topic 11: SAVE America Act — Voting and Election Integrity
Trump called for passage of the SAVE America Act, which he described as having three core components:
- Voter ID — requiring identification to vote
- Proof of citizenship — requiring documentation of citizenship to register
- Restriction of mail-in ballots — limiting mail-in voting to documented cases of illness, disability, military deployment, or travel
He said no country in the world uses mail-in ballots as broadly as the United States, arguing the system is “inherently corrupt.” He expressed particular concern about elections in the New York region.
He also stated his intention to enshrine in permanent law prohibitions on men competing in women’s sports and on gender-transition medical procedures for minors.
He used New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart — present on stage — as a repeated visual illustration of his argument about biological differences in sports, asking rhetorically whether any woman in the audience believed she could tackle a professional NFL player.
Topic 12: New York–Specific Issues and Governor’s Race
Congestion pricing: Trump said he is “fighting relentlessly” to end New York City’s congestion pricing program, which charges drivers a fee to enter lower Manhattan. He described a running phone call relationship with Governor Kathy Hochul — saying her calls come in as “Buffalo, New York” and that she frequently asks for his help on state matters, only to publicly criticize him afterward. “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” he said, calling her “a very nice woman” who will nevertheless “never take you to the promised land.”
Governor’s race endorsement: Trump strongly endorsed Bruce Blakeman as the Republican nominee for governor, praising his record of winning Nassau County as a conservative in a historically competitive area. “He’s going to be the next governor, I’m telling you.” He promised that as governor, Blakeman would have direct access to the White House: “When he calls, the president of the United States will answer.”
Primary endorsements: Trump noted he was recently 38-0 in primary endorsements, citing wins over Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie, and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Topic 13: Healthcare System Overhaul
Trump previewed what he called the “Great Health Care Plan” — a proposal to redirect government health care spending away from large insurance companies and directly to individual Americans, allowing them to purchase their own coverage on the open market. He described Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act) as “always terrible” and argued the new approach would give people better coverage at lower cost.
He also praised Dr. Oz (head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as part of the health policy team, and noted that Vice President JD Vance is leading government fraud-detection efforts that have already uncovered “billions and billions of dollars” in medical fraud.
Topic 14: Legislative Agenda and Closing
Trump closed with a list of legislative and policy commitments:
- Crushing violent crime and imposing harsh penalties on repeat offenders
- Cracking down on what he called “Marxist prosecutors and rogue judges”
- Ending no-cash bail
- Protecting Second Amendment rights
- Defending religious liberty
- Passing the SAVE America Act (voter ID, citizenship proof, mail-in ballot restrictions)
- Enshrining bans on men in women’s sports and transgender surgery for minors in permanent law
He closed with his signature formulation: “We will make America powerful again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America healthy again. We will make America strong again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And we will make America great again.” He urged the crowd to vote in the upcoming midterm elections.
Mike Lawler’s Remarks
Congressman Lawler was brief but pointed. He noted that in 2024, Trump “moved Rockland County further to the right than any county in New York, gaining 14 points and becoming the first Republican to win Rockland County as a presidential candidate in over 20 years.” He credited Trump’s cooperation in delivering the SALT win: “Over 90 percent of my constituents were able to fully deduct their state and local taxes, and I thank you for fulfilling that commitment.”
Howard Lutnick’s Remarks
Commerce Secretary Lutnick was brief, focusing on the $18 trillion investment figure: “President Trump is bringing in more jobs, more investment, and more factories and more production than anybody ever dreamed.” He called Trump “the greatest president of all of our lifetimes.”
Bruce Blakeman’s Remarks
Blakeman was even more concise, serving primarily as a rally moment: “We will save New York as President Trump has saved America because we will fight, fight, fight.”
Source
Trump, Donald. “Speech: Donald Trump Discusses Tax Cuts and the Economy in Suffern, New York – May 22, 2026.” Factbase, powered by FiscalNote/Roll Call, 22 May 2026.