Blakeman shows that as always, political performances have expiration dates
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman buys a gun at a store in Franklin Square to donate it to Ukraine in 2022. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman in March 2022 announced a gun collection drive for Ukraine while its citizens were desperate to fend off Russian forces that invaded the nation a month earlier.
"We want rifles, AR-15s and shotguns," Blakeman, only weeks after unseating a Democrat in an upset, told news media. He added: "President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy for the last few days has been begging weapons, begging for help. How could we sit by silently and not do our part?"
Under President Joe Biden, that became a mainstream appeal, with at least one Ukrainian-American organization on Long Island supporting it.
Trump these days is attacking Zelenskyy. By Wednesday, he falsely claimed the elected Zelenskyy started the war, is a "dictator," and is unpopular in his nation.
Blakeman, a cheerleader on Trump’s electoral bandwagon, said through a spokesman on Wednesday, after being asked about the commander-in-chief's Zelenskyy tirades: "I agree with President Trump that there has been too much death and I applaud his efforts to bring that war to a conclusion."
Nassau Legis. Seth Koslow, the Democrat expected to face Blakeman when he seeks reelection in November, accused Blakeman of flip-flopping.
"Blakeman has proven himself to be nothing more than Trump’s errand boy, eagerly jumping at every chance to please his master, even if it means kowtowing to dictators like Vladimir Putin," Koslow said, adding that his rival has gone from "boycotting Russian vodka to coddling Russian tyrants."
To be fair, it’s an occupational hazard for politicians of all types — they never know when the sell-by date for a photo op will arrive. Situations and political dramas change, and those given to frequent public posturing change quickly to meet new facts.
But for his part, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who may be competing with Blakeman next year for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in New York, seemed intent on showing independence and consistency regarding the Ukraine war.
While also expressing hope for Trump’s foreign efforts, Lawler on Wednesday called Putin "a vile dictator and thug, who has worked in a concerted effort with China and Iran to undermine and destabilize the United States, Europe, Israel, and the free world. He is not our friend, nor our ally."
A rally supporting Ukraine is scheduled for Sunday at the Polish National Home in Glen Cove, on the eve of the war’s third anniversary. Some 5,660 people in Nassau County identified as Ukranian, alone or in combination with other ethnicities, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Blakeman beat incumbent Laura Curran by only 2,146 votes in the "red wave" of November 2021.
On March 17, 2022, soon after the county executive's plea, 60 weapons donated on Long Island were delivered to besieged Ukrainians by U.S. officials.
In addition, Blakeman and Rep. Lee Zeldin, now running Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency, called three years ago for the Killenworth Mansion in Glen Cove, used for decades by the Russian embassy, to be taken back.
Blakeman emoted at a news conference: "President Biden, expel these Russians from Nassau County. We don’t need them here, and let’s get this property back on the tax rolls, so the people of Nassau County and Glen Cove don’t have to finance thugs and dictators and people who invade innocent countries."
Today, Killenworth remains the domain of Russia’s U.N. ambassador.
Don’t expect Trump, who likes to deal in valuable real estate, to demand its return on Nassau's behalf.
Columnist Dan Janison's opinions are his own.
Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
