The president ridiculed the wording of state legislation while campaigning for Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Blakeman, then widened his attack to Governor Kathy Hochul’s record.
President Donald Trump mocked terminology in a New York surrogacy bill during a rally at the Oncenter in Syracuse on Friday 9 October. He was campaigning for Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Blakeman, who is challenging Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul. The legislation, passed by state lawmakers, replaces “mother” and “father” in parts of state law with terms including “gestating parent” and “non-gestating parent”. Mr Trump’s remarks drew laughter from supporters.
What the president said
Mr Trump told the crowd: “You can no longer say ‘mother, hi mom!’ It’s ‘hi gestating.’” He continued: “‘Hi gestating, I love you so much gestating.’”
He then used the issue to attack Ms Hochul, linking the measure to her positions on transgender health care for children and participation in women’s sports.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson also appeared briefly on stage. He told the crowd he was happy to be there with “my president”.
What the bill does
The bill passed both chambers in 2026. The Assembly approved it in March, and the state Senate followed on 2 June. Its final enactment status is not stated in the source material.
The changes go beyond replacing “mother” and “father”. The legislation revises terminology in several areas of state law, including parentage proceedings, genetic testing, child support, custody, visitation and assisted reproduction. The changes apply to specified legal provisions and procedures. They do not prohibit people from saying “mother” or “father” in everyday conversation.
Background on surrogacy law
New York legalised gestational surrogacy in 2021 and introduced procedures to establish legal parentage for children born through assisted reproduction.
The two sides frame the measure differently. Supporters argue that gender-neutral legal terminology better reflects families formed through surrogacy and assisted reproduction. Critics argue that replacing traditional parental terms removes language they consider important to family relationships.
