Is the president’s visit to the saphire blue city a sign of panic for the GOP?

by Boone Kilpatrick

If you had told me six months ago that Donald John Trump would step foot in, think about, or (if you dare to dream) campaign in Syracuse, New York, I would’ve laughed at you. Frankly, it’s safe to say that many might have laughed at you.

If there was anyone that needed the president’s endorsement, that would be Bruce Blakeman. A recent Quinnipiac poll shows Governor Kathy Hochul, dominating Nassau County’s finest, by 19 points.

48% of New York voters say Hochul cares about their needs and problems, only 35% can say the same for Blakeman, ditto on leadership skills. Hochul has Blakeman by 13 points on honesty, and she sports a modest 48% approval rating.

It may not look like much but when you compare it to the 32% Mr. Trump will tote with him when Airforce One touches down at Hancock airport…

So why? Why waste resources on a dying race, in a state that doesn’t have anything for Trump but vitriol and protest, in the midst of one of the most consequential midterms in history?

And perhaps more intriguing, just who will show up?

Plans are already in place for a large-scale protest against the president’s incoming visit, already a bad sign of what is to come for the president.

However there isn’t nothing to gain in central New York for the GOP. Tight house races remain to be flipped, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez realized this with her tour of the interior last week.

Her effort to re-engage dormant voters may be indicative of cracks in the proverbial blue armor of New York, and perhaps the president looks to capitalize?

As the midterm draws nearer tho, with multiple weak spots in the GOP’s majority, the president is clearly looking to be more active. With his request for voters to act as though he is on the ballot, perhaps revealing his hand, and the GOP’s hand.

What Mr. Trump has to say here in the Salt City may confirm that that hand does not contain an ace. It has been no secret that the MAGA blitz that swept the nation in the last decade is receding from shore.

It is far too early to speculate the status of Trumps ongoing impact on American politics and if that impact is coming to an end, but this weekend’s visit may have quite a great deal to tell us.