Yisroel R.

President Donald Trump’s expected visit to Rockland County this Friday would bring a sitting president back to the county nearly five decades after President Gerald Ford made a campaign stop at the Rockland County Courthouse during his 1976 race against Jimmy Carter.

Ford visited New City on October 13, 1976, less than three weeks before Election Day, as part of a New York campaign swing that included stops in Brooklyn, Yonkers, White Plains, and Rockland County. According to archival records, Ford spoke at the Rockland County Courthouse, where he addressed a large crowd and made his case for reelection during one of the final stretches of the campaign.

The stop came during a tense national race, with Ford trying to hold the White House after taking office following President Richard Nixon’s resignation. In his remarks in New City, Ford focused on the economy, taxes, national security, and support for Israel, while directly contrasting his record with Carter’s platform. He told the crowd that the election presented a major choice for the country and appealed to Rockland voters for support.

Old campaign schedule documents from the visit show that Ford’s motorcade arrived at the Rockland County Courthouse at 12:25pm on a Wednesday afternoon, delivered remarks to a public crowd on the courthouse grounds. The document also noted the World War I memorial marker at the courthouse, where President Ford payed tribute to the local fallen heroes.

Despite the energy for local residents around Ford’s Rockland stop, the visit came during the final weeks of a campaign he would ultimately lose. Carter went on to defeat Ford in the 1976 presidential election, ending Ford’s short presidency and making the Rockland appearance part of the closing chapter of that historic race.

This week’s visit by President Trump carries a different setting, with the event described as an official White House appearance alongside Congressman Mike Lawler in part of the president’s broader campaign to help republican candidates ahead of the November midterm elections. Details surrounding the location, timing, and public access have not yet been finalized.

Still, the planned visit is already drawing attention because of how rare presidential appearances in Rockland County have been. For many residents, Friday’s event would mark the first time in their lifetime that a sitting president comes to their neighborhood, placing Rockland County once again in the presidential spotlight nearly 50 years after President Ford stood outside the courthouse in New City.