Trump praises vulnerable GOP Rep. Mike Lawler as ‘fantastic’ during a joint rally in New York

2026 ElectionTrump praises vulnerable GOP Rep. Mike Lawler as ‘fantastic’ during a joint rally in New York“Having the president here — I think you can see, people are very enthusiastic, they’re very excited to hear from him directly,” Lawler, who faces a tough re-election bid, told NBC News.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00President Donald Trump praised vulnerable GOP Rep. Mike Lawler during an event at Rockland Community College in Suffern, N.Y., on May 22.Michael Nagle / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 22, 2026, 5:10 PM EDTBy Sahil Kapur and Megan ShannonSUFFERN, N.Y. — President Donald Trump defended his economic record and praised Republican Rep. Mike Lawler at a campaign-style event Friday, as Lawler vies for re-election in this competitive district that will shape the battle for the House.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Lawler’s path to victory requires a high-wire act. He needs a strong turnout among pro-Trump “MAGA” Republicans to have any shot at winning. But he also needs significant support from moderate and independent voters in this Hudson Valley district.“A lot of people are like, it’s crazy that Trump is going there and it could be counterproductive for Lawler. But we need to turn out the GOP base and nobody does that better than Trump,” said a Republican strategist working on House races, who spoke candidly on the condition of anonymity. “Lawler can thread that needle, where he uses Trump to turn out the base and gets the base excited, but also push back where he pushes back.”FORSUBSCRIBERS00:0000:00New York Rep. Mike Lawler lists his reason for troops on the ground in Iran09:56The headwinds are significant for Lawler: Trump’s national approval rating has sunk to 37%, according to a recent poll from the New York Times and Siena College. But the same poll said Trump’s approval is 82% among Republicans.“Having the president of the United Stat...