New York: Donald Trump headed into hostile territory on Thursday for a rare rally in deeply Democratic New York – hoping to challenge black and Latino voters who are showing signs of waning support for Joe Biden.
In the former Republican presidential candidate’s declared 2020 district, the measure appeared in Trump’s traditionally liberal states, most recently in New Jersey and Minnesota.
But his performance in the South Bronx was a sign that Biden was able to draw on a large number of Hispanic and African-American coalitions seen as crucial to his hopes of retaining the White House.
In his first rally in his former hometown since 2016, Trump is expected to focus on crime and poor economic conditions in one of the most Democratic and diverse areas in the United States, where the population is two-thirds Hispanic and one-third black.
In anticipation of Trump’s arrival, a nearly mile-long line from the Bronx’s bustling Crotona Park winds past basketball courts and pools as local children climb giant flag cranes.
“He’s from New York, and I’m not mad that he’s here,” said Bronx resident George Marrero, 68, who sat against a wooden wall to watch.
“He’s got support here and I’m sure he’ll do better now.”
Trump’s team did not respond to a request for details about the rally, but a campaign spokesman told The Hill that New York state was “destroyed” by Biden and that Trump would “restore law and order.”
In fact, New York City had a banner year for crime in 2023, with homicides down 12 percent year over year, according to police figures. The number of crimes in April decreased by five percent compared to the same month last year.
The rally comes at a tense time for Trump, who has been kicked off the campaign trail after being accused of falsifying employment records to cover up large payments to cover up a sex scandal in Manhattan.
After the rally was organized, the robber is expected to wait another week in New York, but the trial will be completed – the judge sent the jury on Tuesday recess for a week.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a liberal Democratic congresswoman whose district includes part of the Bronx, said that because Trump had the legal version of the wristband … it was a shame.
New York State last elected a Republican president in 1984 when Ronald Reagan was re-elected.
Biden won nearly 85 percent of the 2020 Bronx vote, welcoming the first African-American woman to the Supreme Court and vice president.
White spoke about Biden’s achievements on home ownership and economic opportunity for Hispanic and black communities, reducing child poverty, voting rights and health care.
At the same time, Trump was severely reprimanded when he admitted that 88 felony charges against him in several courts were against black voters who have been victimized by the criminal justice system.
But polls show he is connecting with black and Hispanic Americans, especially young voters who are interested in politics and who blame Biden for a rise in illegal immigration along the Mexican border.
The latest Ipsos poll of blacks found that while Biden remains favorable to Trump, his approval rating has dropped by seven points since 2022, with the likelihood of voting falling from 74 percent to 62 percent between elections.
“I came here because I like President Trump,” said Richard Lyman, a 55-year-old retiree who traveled with friends from Poughkeepsie, upstate New York, to see the political views.
“I’m here because of the last four years – open borders, everything costs money, the person responsible is a liar.”
