Why a New York City Republican thinks Trump increased his NYC vote share
Why Trump won over voters in deep-blue New York
Five questions for … Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-New York): Vice President Kamala Harris won New York City last week by 37 points — a substantial drop from President Joe Biden’s 53-point margin of victory there and the worst performance by a Democratic presidential nominee in the city since Michael Dukakis in 1988.
President-elect Donald Trump’s newfound strength in the city where he was born and lived most of his life led Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) to ask New Yorkers who voted for Trump but also supported her to explain why they had done so.
We talked with Malliotakis, who represents a district that includes Staten Island and part of Brooklyn, about why more New Yorkers were voting for Trump. This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Trump won your district by about eight points in 2020. It looks like he carried it by about 25 points last week. What happened?
There was a lot of frustration for my constituents because [many of them] didn’t vote for President Biden, they didn’t vote for [Democratic] Governor [Kathy] Hochul, they didn’t vote for [Democratic] Mayor [Eric] Adams, and yet they’ve been subjected to the policies of all three.
They’re very upset with the illegal mass migration crisis that was created by the Biden-Harris administration and that has been exacerbated by the city’s sanctuary policy — the mayor insisting that these people coming to our country illegally are entitled to free luxury hotel rooms and other services at taxpayer expense. They wanted to send a loud and clear message opposing that.
My district is very diverse, and what I find speaking with the different immigrant groups in my community is that they were the most angry about illegal immigration. They, like my parents, came to this country, never received any benefits. They just worked hard, they followed the rules, they didn’t commit crimes, and they made it. That’s why you saw 46 percent of Latinos [nationwide] go to Trump. It’s why you saw immigrant groups across the country embrace him, and I think it’s why you saw those really incredible numbers in my district for President Trump.
A New York Times-Siena College poll of New York City conducted late last month found 29 percent of Hispanic likely voters and 30 percent of likely voters who identified as neither White nor Black nor Hispanic backed Trump. How much of this shift was driven by non-White voters?
It really started after the bail law took effect [in 2020]. That’s when you saw more of a shift towards Republicans among New Yorkers in general, but particularly Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans.
Now you’ve seen it expand, where African Americans are also starting to leave the Democrat Party. They see that Democrats are not prioritizing spending to benefit our citizens. They’re jeopardizing public safety with all sorts of stupid laws that release repeat offenders. And they’re driving up the cost of utility bills and making it more difficult for them to survive and stay in their homes.
The shift toward Trump didn’t translate in House races. Harris won Democratic Rep. Grace Meng’s district by about six points, but Meng easily won reelection. Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi won narrowly even though Trump appears to have won his district. Is New York becoming more Republican or just shifting toward Trump?
Grace Meng and Suozzi are more moderate compared to many of the others from New York, so it could be personality. [But] I’ve seen my district in particular shift more towards Republicans.
Four years ago, I was the only Republican that represented any part of Brooklyn at any level of government. Now there’s seven of us at the city, state and federal level. We flipped multiple [state] Assembly seats in my congressional district [in 2022] as well as a state Senate seat this year in Brooklyn, which was an Asian American district. So we’re making inroads. We’re still very much in the minority in New York but we are making inroads.
You saw big shifts toward Trump this year in New York City and on Long Island and in the New Jersey suburbs, but it was much more muted in Upstate New York. Why?
The migrant crisis. We had over 200 hotels being taken over by illegal immigrants at our expense. [Floyd Bennett Field] in Brooklyn, in [House Minority Leader] Hakeem Jeffries’s district, became a migrant encampment. It was more in-your-face in New York City.
Anything else that helped Trump run stronger in your district?
Congestion pricing. Two-thirds of New Yorkers in New York City alone were opposed to congestion pricing. That’s a big issue. And if the governor moves forward with what she’s trying to do, which is jam it down the throats of New Yorkers, I believe you’ll see us take even more seats in the midterms.