President Trump’s shadow loomed large over Thursday’s debate for New York’s 12th Congressional District, where four Democratic contenders vying to replace Rep. Jerry Nadler clashed over policy and strategy. The hour-long forum, hosted by PIX11, saw lawyer George Conway, John F. Kennedy’s grandson Jack Schlossberg, and state Assemblymembers Alex Bores and Micah Lasher spar on everything from energy policy to immigration—with Trump as the recurring foil.
Conway Leads Anti-Trump Attacks
Conway, the ex-husband of former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, invoked the president’s name most aggressively, arguing that Democratic goals are unattainable while Trump remains in office. “We need more supply of renewable energy,” Conway said early in the debate. “We also need to end this stupid war that has raised the price of non-renewable energy. But again, how are we going to do that when Donald Trump, who thinks that windmills cause cancer, is still president?” He later added, “This criminal, this rapist, this absolute sick man stands in the way of any such progress, and until he is removed, until his cabinet’s removed, we can’t make progress on this.”
Unified Call for ICE Abolition
All four candidates backed abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, citing Trump’s deportation agenda and crackdown on sanctuary jurisdictions. Lasher framed the issue personally, recounting his family’s flight from Eastern European persecution in the late 1800s. “The Trump administration’s cruelty to our immigrant neighbors is an attack on all of us, it’s an attack on New York,” he said. “The Democratic Party needs to be absolutely firm, speak with moral clarity, fight back, abolish ICE, bring back humanity to our federal government.” This stance aligns with broader progressive critiques of Trump’s immigration policies, as Joe Rogan has warned about the potential for future authoritarian misuse of such deployments.
Schlossberg Challenges Bores on Palantir Past
Schlossberg took aim at Bores’s previous role as a data scientist at Palantir, the software firm with ties to Trump-era immigration enforcement. Bores shot back, calling the attack “the disinformation that Trump mega donors are sending into New York 12.” He insisted he left the company by putting “morals over my career” over its ICE contracts.
Israel and Impeachment
On foreign policy, the candidates accused Trump of failing to push for diplomacy in the Middle East amid the Gaza war and strikes on Iran. Lasher said, “Donald Trump has given carte blanche, among other things, to Bibi Netanyahu and his regime, and I think we need to bring American diplomatic pressure back to bear on this situation and try to get back to a time when we could envision peace for both Israelis and Palestinian people alike.” All four also said they would support impeachment proceedings against Trump. Schlossberg went further, arguing that “we have to actually remove him, and I think it’s possible.” The debate came as Trump unveiled a $700 million coal rescue package, underscoring the national stakes.
District Dynamics and Polling
The 12th District covers much of Manhattan, including the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, and Midtown. Recent PIX11 polling puts Lasher at 22 percent, Bores at 20 percent, Schlossberg at 11 percent, and Conway at 10 percent. With the primary approaching, the candidates are jockeying to turn anti-Trump sentiment into votes—a strategy that could resonate in a deep-blue district.
