New York primary: Trump rallies crowd of 15,000 on Long Island

BETHPAGE - Donald J. Trump went early and often to his go-to refrain, telling a crowd of more than 15,000 supporters at Grumman Studios on Wednesday that America would win again if he becomes president.

Speaking on Long Island miles away from his Manhattan home, Trump said the United States wasn’t winning in trade or the military, with the country’s armed forces depleted and not demanding the same respect it once did.

“We don’t fight like people from Long Island, we don’t fight like people from New York,” he said during a half-hour speech. “We are going to rebuild our military, it’s going to be bigger and better and stronger than ever before and nobody is going to mess with us.”

It was the Republican front-runner’s first New York primary appearance and represented a homecoming one day after being dealt a momentum-shifting defeat at the hands of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the Wisconsin Republican primary.

He stood by his plan to build a wall at the Mexican border, which drew cheers from the crowd. Then, he asked them “who is going to pay for the wall?” and they yelled back in unison: “Mexico!” He vowed to repeal Obamacare, protect the second amendment and beat ISIS.

The rally drew a large crowd outside of protesters, with many held back behind gates, faced down by police wearing riot gear. Some roads around the center were closed to traffic. Supporters parked miles away and took shuttles to get to the area. Those who walked were solicited by vendors selling “Make America Great Again" hats and Trump T-shirts. One yelled “Anyone but Hillary” to cars in creeping traffic near a rail crossing.

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Former Republican gubernatorial candidate and upstate businessman Carl Paladino, who rode a wave of tea party anti-government sentiment, addressed supporters before Trump’s appearance. He criticized what he said was a lack of work ethic and a politically correct attitude infecting the country.

He also bashed the press, which he said is acting as thought police. He praised Trump for being tough, saying the New York native “doesn’t apologize to anybody for anything that America has done.”

Trump is looking to get his mojo back in the April 19 primary in New York, his home state, where he was polling with large leads against Sen. Ted Cruz, who ran away with the Wisconsin win Tuesday night. Ninety-five Republican delegates are at stake.

Trump now has 743 delegates and needs to reach 1,237 to clinch. With the victory in Wisconsin, Cruz now has 510. Cruz and Kasich are trying to chip away at the lead to keep him from reaching the threshold before the convention in Cleveland in July.

The Manhattan billionaire and reality TV star had some recent stumbles on the campaign trail that some pundits say may drag out the primary to a contested convention, where there's been talk party leaders could opt to back a different candidate even if Trump is in the lead.

In the past weeks, he's taken heat for retweeting a photo from a follower that appeared to compare his wife, former model Melania, to Cruz's wife Heidi, an investment professional. He also took heat from women's rights groups for suggesting women who have abortions should be punished criminally.

Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, looking to fend off a challenge from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary, was in Brooklyn Tuesday and criticized Trump's comments, which she said reflected the Republican viewpoint.

"Peddling prejudice and paranoia is not the New York way," Clinton said of Trump during a town hall at Medgar Evers College.

Trump, at his rally, implied his response was overblown by the press, which he called "dirty." He promised to beat Clinton in the general election and maintained he had not gone after her yet.

Bob Mackiewicz, a 56-year-old firefighter from Bayonne, New Jersey, came to Bethpage at 1:30 p.m. to make it inside for the 7 p.m. rally. He said he’s spent $1,500 since July on Trump merchandise to give to family and friends and wore a Trump campaign hat and T-shirt to the rally.

He said Trump was his choice in the primary by far because he acknowledged problems such as open borders and illegal immigration.

“This country’s about to politically correct itself off a cliff,” he said.

Eileen Larsen, a 57-year-old accountant from Seaford, in Long Island, said she recently registered as a Republican just to vote in the primary. She said hadn’t decided whether to support Trump. She decided to come to the rally based on the hype his positions receive.

“I wanted to see it for myself,” she said.

Alejandro Morales, a Sanders supporter, said he had been kicked out of the rally after questioning some Trump supporters. He said he was scared by how well Trump worked the crowd.

"That's what's dangerous about him: he's charismatic," he said

Twitter: @marklungariello