Trump visits Long Island, endorses Blakeman for New York governor, shares emotional moment with family of Jacob Freytes, boy murdered in the Bronx

President Donald Trump visited the Nassau County Police Academy on Long Island this Friday. In addition to delivering a speech focused on the drop in crime, he also explicitly endorsed Republican Bruce Blakeman's gubernatorial bid and made an emotional gesture that marked the event: he stepped off the stage to embrace the parents of Jacob Freytes, the 12-year-old boy killed by a stray bullet in the Bronx.

Trump spoke before dozens of uniformed cadets and officials from the Department of Justice, who presented new crime statistics during the event. "In 2025 we achieved the single largest reduction in violent crime in American history and last year, there were over 3,100 fewer murders than the year before. Since I took office, Federal law enforcement have arrested 1.2 million criminals nationwide and bad ones," said the president. Preliminary data from the FBI for 2025 show an estimated 9.3% drop in violent crime nationwide compared to 2024, with an 18.1% decline in homicides, figures the agency described as the largest annual drops in violent crime and homicides since 1937.

During his speech, Trump referred to the case of Jacob Freytes, who was killed by a stray bullet two weeks ago while riding his bike in the Bronx, and recalled that he had been shot by a repeat offender during a shootout. "Jacob was the son of a loving mom and a retired New York City police detective, and they are incredible people, and I think I heard that they may be with us today. Are you with us?" the president asked. He then stepped down from the stage to greet his parents, Migdalia Martínez and the retired sergeant from NYPD Jesús Freytes, whom he hugged and spoke with privately. Upon his return, he described what had happened as horrific.

Trump used the event to formally endorse Blakeman, the current Nassau County executive, in his race against the Democratic governor Kathy Hochul. "Nowhere is the communist attack on American society more clear than in New York state. The radical-left Gov. Kathy Hochul has been very, very bad on crime," he said. Blakeman, who shared the stage with the president, publicly thanked him and praised his handling of the southern border.

The president also criticized the state's sanctuary policies and the cashless bail law pushed by Hochul, and called the rule requiring counties like Nassau to end their formal cooperation agreements with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by August 25.

Hochul's office responded with a statement accusing Trump and Blakeman of joining forces against the governor for holding ICE agents accountable when they act without oversight, while—she argued—her administration is investing billions to reduce crime, in contrast to levels that, according to the governor, reached historic highs under Blakeman's leadership.

A recent Siena College poll showed Hochul with a ten-point lead over Blakeman, 49% to 39%, although the gap has narrowed from the 20-point lead the governor held in June. The same poll indicated that 60% of likely voters in New York have an unfavorable opinion of Trump.

Supporters and opponents of the president demonstrated near the event. An organizer with the National Day Labor Organizing Network argued that the presence of ICE in the area is part of Blakeman's attempt to portray himself as an unconditional ally of Trump—something, he said, that local communities reject.