NEW YORK – Former President Donald Trump has broken political norms by visiting one of the bluest parts of New York City, a city not necessarily known for its friendliness toward Republicans.
Trump gathered a crowd of what his campaign estimated to be 25,000 supporters at Crotona Park in the Bronx on Thursday, far larger than the initial 3,500 he said were expected to attend. Those numbers seemed to include those lined up outside the event as well.
“I'm here tonight to declare that we are going to change New York City, and we are going to change it very, very quickly,” Trump said after taking the stage, promising to return safety and better schools to the city. . “We're going to make New York bigger, better and grander than ever before.”
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Former President Donald Trump holds a rally in the historic South Bronx Democratic district on May 23, 2024, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Trump praised New York's history, but lamented that “it is now a city in decline.”
“I've never seen anything like this,” he said, highlighting the violent crimes taking place in the subways and in homeless encampments throughout the city.
Trump continued to criticize President Biden, saying he was not “getting the job done” for the people of the Bronx and was “grossly incompetent.”
“If one New Yorker can't save this city, no one can,” Trump declared to loud cheers. “Who said we weren't going to win in New York?”
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Supporters of Donald Trump try to catch a glimpse of the former president at a rally in Crotona Park in the Bronx, New York, on May 23, 2024. (Fox News Digital/Michael Ruiz)
He promised, if elected, to work with Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and Democratic Mayor Eric Adams to fix the city and state, including overhauling the subway system, cleaning up parks and removing homeless people from the streets. home and with mental illnesses.
Trump also used the speech to criticize the economic downturn facing the country under the Biden administration, with an emphasis on how he said it affects Black and Hispanic families the most, and repeated some of his frequently used lines about energy, inflation and being “weak” in the external setting.
Near the end of the speech, he recited Al Wilson's song, “The Snake,” which he often uses as a metaphor to criticize uncontrolled illegal immigration.
The thousands of people who gathered to see the former president were a diverse group of people, including what Fox News Digital noted were black, Hispanic, white, Asian and Muslim supporters. Several attendees traveled from as far away as Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The former president promoted his visit on social media before the rally, while his campaign stated that he was “not afraid to take his message to every borough of New York, to every corner of this great country, because he believes his message is a winner.” “. “.
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Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in the South Bronx in New York City on May 23, 2024. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump was the first Republican presidential candidate to actively campaign for the general election in New York City in decades, and if he pulls off what many expect to be an impossible feat, he would be the first to win the Empire State in 40 years.
Trump earned less than 10% of the vote in the Bronx in his 2016 presidential election victory. His support in the Bronx rose to 16% in his 2020 reelection loss, with biden winning 83.5% of the vote, but current polls suggest the former president is making more gains among black and Hispanic voters.
The Trump campaign believes the former president can make a dent in Biden's support among both demographic groups.
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Democrats planned a counterprotest to the mass rally, and the Bronx Democratic Party held its own event in the same park. Fox News Digital noticed a small group of a few hundred protesters outside the event, but police cleared them without major disruption.
The event came during a brief break in Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan. Closing arguments are expected when the court resumes Tuesday after a break for the federal Memorial Day holiday.
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