Andrew Cuomo

Paladino: Molinaro backs Trump, and the rest of the GOP should too

Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino says the Marc Molinaro, the GOP's nominee against Gov. Andrew Cuomo this year, is supportive of President Donald Trump - and the rest of the party should be, too.

Donald Trump with Carl Paladino at a 2014 rally.

Donald Trump with Carl Paladino at a 2014 rally. Mike Groll/AP/Shutterstock

Maybe it has to do with their similar backgrounds or their penchant for racially charged rhetoric, but Carl Paladino saw the political appeal of Donald Trump long before the rest of the country. The 2010 New York Republican gubernatorial nominee encouraged Trump to run for president, and co-chaired his campaign in the state. But with Trump’s approval rating in his home state south of 40 percent, the state Republican Party seems to be staying away – the president was barely mentioned at the state Republican Convention in May. City & State caught up with Paladino at the convention and asked him about the current state of the party.

C&S: Republican gubernatorial nominee Marcus Molinaro didn’t vote for Trump and avoids mentioning the president in speeches. Is that the right way to win in New York in 2018?

CP: I think the right way to win in 2018 is to accept Donald Trump. Molinaro, despite the fact that he has said a number of times that he didn’t vote for Trump, has told me is a Trump supporter and he supports Trump.

C&S: As in, supporting him as the president?

CP: He supports him as the president. Because I sat down and I eyeballed with him at dinner. And I asked that question. Obviously, it’s very important to me.

C&S: You don’t think the party is avoiding talking about Trump because it’s potentially toxic to most voters in the state?

CP: The Republican Party in the state of New York, most of them, were strong with us in the primary campaign. We had good support from all around upstate and from the boroughs in New York (City). Yes, he lost (New York in the general election). Because we didn’t advertise. They made a decision to forget about New York in that sense and not spend heavy here. They thought their chances of winning Pennsylvania were better, and they were right. Good call.

So these people that want to interpret Trump as having animosity against the state of New York, I don’t think that’s true, OK? He’s going to make Andrew Cuomo and the mayor of New York prove to him in some reasonable financial sense that digging that tunnel from New Jersey over to Manhattan makes sense. And eventually, when they go by the book – because (Trump is) a by-the-book guy – then he’s going to make sure that they aren’t pounding their chests saying, ‘Look at what we did for you.’ That they’re saying, ‘Donald Trump made this deal.’ I think that’s the important thing.

C&S: Is there a rift in the New York Republican Party among people like Molinaro who didn’t vote for Trump and those that did?

CP: It doesn’t have anything to do with Molinaro. There’s a lot of people in upstate New York that feel that (state GOP Chairman) Ed Cox has done his thing, and that maybe after this election this year we get some change and we get a leader of the party from upstate, where a great majority of the Republican, conservative voters are.

C&S: Who would that be, you? Erie County Republican Committee Chairman Nick Langworthy?

CP: Oh, it’ll be Langworthy. It won’t be me. (Laughs.) I’ve got other fish to fry.

C&S: I didn’t see a single “Make America Great Again” hat at the state GOP convention.

CP: That’s because I forgot to even – I didn’t even think about bringing one. I would’ve brought one!

C&S: Is there a movement away from Trump within the state party?

CP: No. No. In fact, the county chairs I’ve talked to are very supportive of Trump. They were very supportive in the primary except for a couple of them. (Suffolk County Republican Committee Chairman John) Jay LaValle got up there and he started talking Trump. But Jay LaValle did not vote for Trump in the primary; he voted for Kasich. And it was three days after (the primary) that both he and Ed Cox endorsed. After the primary! After we kicked the shit out of the opponents, that’s when Cox and LaValle decided to get on the bus. (Lavalle denies this and says he voted for Trump in the primary. In fact, LaValle introduced Trump at a rally two weeks before the primary and publicly endorsed him. Cox endorsed Trump two days after the primary.) And then they were strong supporters in the final. They weren’t pro-Trump in the beginning.

Editor's note: This post has been updated with John Jay LaValle's response to Carl Paladino's allegations about him.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.