Former President Donald Trump campaigned in one of the most Democratic counties in the United States, holding a rally in the South Bronx neighborhood in an attempt to win over minority voters days before a Manhattan jury begins deliberations on whether to indict him. guilty of serious charges at his trial for making payments to silence compromising stories.
Trump addressed supporters Thursday in Crotona Park, a public green space in a neighborhood that is among the most impoverished and diverse in the city, unlike the majority-white areas where he conducts most of his business. campaign events. Although there was not as much diversity among attendees as there is in the South Bronx as a whole, a large number of black and Hispanic voters were present and Spanish was heard among the crowd.
Trump presented himself as a better president for black and Hispanic voters than President Joe Biden, while also attacking Biden on immigration, an issue that the former president has made a central part of his campaign. He insisted that “the biggest negative impact” of the influx of migrants to New York is “against our black population and our Hispanic population, who are losing their jobs, losing their homes, losing everything they can lose.”
Some in the crowd responded by chanting, “Build the wall,” a reference to Trump’s initiative while in the White House to build a border wall between the United States and Mexico.
Because Trump has been confined to New York for most of the past six weeks due to the trial he faces, the presumptive Republican candidate’s campaign team has scheduled a series of local stops in his hometown before and after going to court. . He visited a warehouse in Harlem, stopped by a construction site and took a photo at a fire station.
But the Bronx rally was his first event open to the general public, as he insists he wants to win an overwhelmingly Democratic state that has not supported a Republican presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan in 1984.
In addition to generating a well-attended spectacle, the rally also gave Trump the opportunity to highlight what he argues are advantages on economic and immigration issues that could cause key sectors of Democratic voters to lose votes to that party.
“The strategy is to show voters in the Bronx and New York that this is not a typical presidential election, that Donald Trump is here to represent everyone and get our country back on track,” said Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, a possible Trump’s running mate, who grew up in the Brooklyn district and spoke at the rally.
The former president opened his rally with an ode to his hometown, referring to its humble beginnings when it was a small Dutch trading enclave before becoming a glamorous capital of culture that “inspired the entire world.” Although Trump took up residence in Florida in 2019, on Thursday he recalled his efforts to revive the Wollman skating rink in Central Park and the people he knew in the real estate business.
“Everyone wanted to be here,” he told the enthusiastic audience. “But now sadly this is a city in decline.”
“If one New Yorker can’t save this country,” he noted, “no one can.”
Hours before the Trump rally began, a long line of supporters wearing red “Make America Great Again” hats and other Trump campaign gear snaked around the park, waiting for it to begin. safety control. People were still entering the park when Trump’s speech was well underway, and some supporters were running towards the rally site after passing the checkpoint.
The Bronx Democratic Party held its own rally in the park to protest Trump’s appearance.
Members of various unions were present, holding signs that read: “The Bronx says no to Trump” in English and Spanish.
“We are used to elected officials, government officials, opportunists of all kinds coming to our community and exploiting our painful history,” said Democratic state Rep. Amanda Septimo, who represents the South Bronx.
“They talk about the Bronx and everything that’s wrong with it, but they never get to the part where they talk about what they’re going to do for the Bronx, and we know that Trump is never going to get to that part in his speech.”
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels Youtube, WhatsApp and to the newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, x and instagram.
Add Comment