President Donald Trump mocked terminology in a New York surrogacy bill during a Friday rally in Syracuse while campaigning for Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Blakeman. His remarks targeted legislation passed by state lawmakers that revises wording connected to surrogacy. Speaking to the Empire State crowd at the Oncenter, he ridiculed New York legislation that replaces “mother” and “father” in parts of state law with terms including “gestating parent” and “non-gestating parent.” “You can no longer say ‘mother, hi mom!’ It’s ‘hi gestating,’” the president said.
He continued: “‘Hi gestating, I love you so much gestating,’” drawing laughter from supporters. He broadened the attack into a campaign argument against Governor Kathy Hochul, linking the measure to her positions on transgender health care for children and participation in women’s sports. The event also featured an appearance by former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, who briefly joined Trump on stage and told the crowd he was happy to be there with “my president.” Newsweek emailed the White House and Governor Hochul’s office for further comment outside of regular working hours on Saturday.
The dispute has become a late-stage election issue as Republicans seek to portray Albany Democrats as disconnected from voters’ everyday concerns. The bill changes language used in certain parentage proceedings, describing people as “gestating” or “non-gestating” parents and replacing “paternity” hearings with “parentage” hearings. Supporters say the wording addresses technical legal questions involving surrogacy.
Critics argue that removing familiar family terms diminishes mothers and fathers while giving state government greater influence over parental matters. Trump’s attention then shifted to Blakeman, the Nassau County executive seeking to unseat the Democratic incumbent. Earlier, Blakeman had offered his own interpretation of the measure, calling it “insane.” “They want to take control away from parents,” he told attendees.
They’re letting Albany make the decisions that should be up to parents.” A spokesperson for Hochul rejected that characterization and indicated that the governor had not completed her assessment of the legislation. Republicans are presenting the revised vocabulary as evidence of an ideological shift in state government, while the governor’s office maintains that its purpose is narrower and rooted in legal precision. Blakeman continues to trail Hochul across four recent statewide polls.
The September surveys produced a wider spread: Although the margins ranged from nine to 19 points, every survey showed Hochul leading. Direct comparisons require caution because Marist surveyed registered voters, while the other three polls sampled likely voters. Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
