President Donald Trump mocked the terminology in New York’s surrogacy bill at a rally in Syracuse on Friday while campaigning for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blackman.
His comments took aim at legislation passed by state lawmakers to change language related to surrogacy.
Speaking to an Empire State crowd at Oncenter, he mocked New York state legislation that replaces “mother” and “father” with terms like “gestational parent” and “non-pregnant parent” in parts of state law.
“You can no longer say ‘Hi Mom!’ It’s ‘Hi Pregnancy,'” the president said. “‘Hi Pregnancy, I love you so much Pregnancy,'” he continued, drawing laughter from supporters.
He expanded his attack on campaign arguments against Gov. Kathy Hochul, tying the measure to her stance on transgender health care for children and participation in women’s sports.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson also attended the event, briefly taking the stage with Trump and telling the crowd he was happy to be with “my president.”
newsweek He emailed the White House and Gov. Hochul’s office Saturday outside regular business hours for further comment.
focus
- Thousands of supporters attended the campaign, according to the organization new york post.
- Hochul’s office said no legislation would change its view that “a mother is a mother and a father is a father.”
- A Marist poll released Wednesday showed the Democratic governor leading his Republican challenger by 11 points.
- A Siena University survey last month put the game within single digits.
why it’s important
The dispute has become a late-election issue as Republicans try to paint Albany Democrats as out of touch with voters’ day-to-day concerns.
The bill changes the language used in certain paternity testing proceedings to describe people as “pregnant” or “non-pregnant” parents, and replaces “paternity test” hearings with “paternity testing” hearings.
Supporters said the language resolved technical legal issues involving surrogacy.
Critics argue that removing familiar family terms would weaken the status of mothers and fathers while giving states greater influence over parental matters.
Blackman and Hochul offer competing explanations
Trump then turned his attention to Nassau County Executive Blackman, who is trying to unseat the Democratic incumbent.
“New York needs to dump this radical left-wing lunatic and elect Bruce Blackman,” Trump declared.
Earlier, Blackman offered his own explanation for the measure, calling it “crazy”.
“They want to take control away from their parents,” he told attendees. “They’re denigrating parents. They’re asking Albany to make decisions that should be made by parents.”
A spokesman for Hochul rejected that characterization and said the governor has not yet completed his review of the legislation.
“The legislation we will review appears to address technical legal issues related to surrogacy and parentage,” the spokesperson said. new york post the report said. “Anyone making malicious comments is intentionally misleading New Yorkers for political gain.”
The response highlighted core differences.
Republicans point to the revised vocabulary as evidence of an ideological shift in state government, while the governor’s office insists its purpose is narrow and rooted in the accuracy of the law.
What the polls show about the gubernatorial race
Blackman continues to trail Hochul in four recent statewide polls.
- An Emerson College Poll/PIX11 News survey of 900 likely voters conducted Oct. 3-5 showed Hochul leading by 12 points, 52 percent to 40 percent. Its margin of error is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
- The Marist poll, conducted among 1,361 registered voters from October 1 to 4, showed Hochul’s support at 53% to Blackman’s 42%, narrowing the lead to 11 points. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
September’s survey was broader:
- Quinnipiac University polled 1,026 likely voters between Sept. 17 and 20 and found a 19-point lead, 58% to 39%, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
- A University of Siena poll of 1,144 likely voters conducted from Sept. 11 to 17 showed Hochul leading by 9 points, 50 percent to 41 percent. Its core question has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
Although the margin ranged from 9 to 19 points, every survey showed Hochul in the lead.
Direct comparisons require caution because Marist surveyed registered voters, while the other three polls sampled likely voters.
Newsweek reporters and editors used our artificial intelligence assistant Martyn to produce this story. Learn more about Martin here.
Please contact Newsweek editor Edward Pearcey about this story.