President Donald Trump will visit the lower Hudson Valley Friday afternoon to campaign with Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler in Rockland County.
According to Rockland Daily, it’s been nearly 50 years since a sitting president has visited the county.
Lawler is running for a third term in New York’s 17th Congressional District. Siena pollster Steve Greenberg said Trump’s visit could energize Lawler’s base, but could also backfire and energize Democrats.
“You got to remember, this congressional district is one of only three that Kamala Harris won, and a Republican got elected to Congress in,” he said. “So, this is an unusual district, and again, that's why I say the president for Lawler is a bit of a double-edged sword."
Greenberg said the president has never been popular in his birth state.
“There were rumors earlier in the century where he was thinking about running for governor, so we've been polling on Donald Trump for like about 15 years now,” Greenberg said. "... He's never had a positive favorability rating. He's always been underwater with New York voters."
Greenberg said one-third of New Yorkers view Trump favorably while almost two-thirds view him unfavorably. In the downstate suburbs, including Rockland, Westchester, and Orange counties, and Long Island, he’s a bit more popular, with 41% approval and 57% disapproval.
