Donald Trump drew one of the most diverse crowds of his political career on Thursday when he made a pilgrimage to a New York neighborhood. who rejected him by a staggering 68 points in 2020.
Winning in New York state is the longest road for the former president, while achieving a victory in the Bronx is inconceivable. But the trends that were apparent Thursday at Trump’s rally echoed broader campaign themes that have Democrats nervous heading into the fall: that a small but potentially powerful A portion of black and Hispanic Americans, especially younger voters, may break with President Joe Biden and vote for Trump or a third party or stay home.
NBC News spoke to nearly a dozen Bronx voters before Trump’s speech, many of whom were not present to watch the rally or a counterprotest. While some expressed disdain for him or said they thought he was crazy, others expressed appreciation for elements of his presidency — such as the stimulus checks sent out during the Covid pandemic that bore his name — and said they had no problem with his appearance in the Bronx. .
Carolina de la Cruz, a Bronx resident who owns and operates a daycare, was taking some of her children through Crotona Park on Thursday afternoon to, as she put it, help them connect with nature and participate in “ tree hugs.” She didn’t know Trump was going to give a speech in the park later that night until she asked a police officer about increased patrol.
No problem, she said. De la Cruz said that although she identified as a Democrat, she voted for Trump in 2020 and planned to vote for him this fall as well.
“We definitely need a change,” she said, adding that her neighborhood has become more chaotic in recent years and that other friends and family who were repulsed by Trump’s language and approach are now saying “we need” him back.
“They are forgetting what he said and are more focused on what he was doing in power,” she said.
Additionally, some voters have expressed frustration with the influx of migrants crossing the US southern border, especially those being relocated to New York City, where they say there has been a strain on social services.
Roberto M., a Bronx resident who attended Trump’s after-work rally and declined to give his full name, described himself as a moderate and said he was keeping an open mind ahead of the fall and wanted to hear what Trump had to say. He said he voted for Biden in 2020.
“A lot of people are thinking about giving it a chance,” he said, adding, “I’m all for social justice and people coming here to improve their lives. But I feel like in this administration there has been a lack of control with the influx of individuals coming here, especially in New York, where we are seeing a lot of budget cuts due to trying to accommodate some people to get services.”
The rally was a rare midweek campaign event for Trump, as he was in court four days a week in Manhattan for his criminal trial, which is getting to the end. A verdict could come as early as next week.
The rally in the South Bronx was framed as an effort to reach minority voters, and the crowd was much more diverse than those at traditional Trump events. However, as with other Trump rallies, many of the attendees were not from the area where the event took place.
In an event that lasted more than an hour, Trump spoke at length about his business career in New York, criticized Biden’s economic and immigration policies and painted the city, his former home, as an apocalyptic dystopia that only he can save.
“As soon as I get back to the Oval Office, I will pick up the phone, call your mayor and your governor and say, ‘This is President Trump, and I want to come back and help,” he said, adding that he would let the people of New York “very, very happy.”
At various times, cries of “build the wall” and “send them back” erupted when Trump discussed immigration, including when he said that black and Hispanic Americans faced the greatest negative consequences of undocumented immigrants entering the country.
His promises included “reclaiming our parks” and renovating the entire New York City subway system – promising to “make it beautiful again.”
Many members of New York’s Orthodox Jewish community, one of the most Trump-friendly demographics in the city, were in attendance on Thursday. When some Jewish attendees began shouting for the return of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, Trump said: “Many of the hostages you are waiting for, and everyone is waiting for, are dead. And it’s a horrible thing.”
After repeating the falsehood that the 2020 elections were rigged against him and that if they hadn’t been, the war between Israel and Hamas wouldn’t have happened, Trump appeared to call on some of the singers to shut up.
“OK, that’s enough. I know you’re on our side. But it’s enough,” he said, adding, “It’s a difficult situation.”
He then launched into a long monologue about achieving personal success.
Earlier, a series of warm-up speakers introduced Trump, including Ruben Diaz Sr., a conservative Democrat and former city council member and former state senator, who said, “Donald Trump is welcome here in the Bronx.”
Democrats and Trump critics were quick to react against the Bronx rally, with the Biden campaign even pre-empting it, releasing two Ads aims to “challenge Trump’s baseless claims about his accomplishments for the black community” that are ongoing in swing states. The ads take aim at past anti-Black rhetoric and Trump’s effort to lead the so-called birther movement against former President Barack Obama, among other points.
In a statement, Janiyah Thomas, Black media director for the Trump campaign, said the effort was “yet another cheap attempt by the Biden campaign to gaslight Black voters” that “fails to address Biden’s terrible policies that are harming our community ”.
Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres, who represents the district in Congress, tweeted that the event “may be IN the South Bronx, but it is not IN the South Bronx. Put bluntly, Trump transplants are much whiter than residents of the South Bronx, which is almost entirely Latino and black.”
The Rev. Kirsten John Foy, president and CEO of The Arc of Justice, said while participating in a counterprotest outside the rally that the idea that Trump is making inroads into communities of color was “a false narrative.”
“They are pointing to research with questionable methodology,” Foy said. “They’re saying that Trump is increasing his support among blacks and among Latinos, and we just don’t see any evidence of that on the ground. In fact, people passing by wanted to know why we were here, and we told them why, and they decided to stay and join us, because no one who is authentically from the Bronx is willing to subscribe to hate and xenophobia and misogyny and all the things this guy represents.”
Tim Rios, a Bronx resident who was walking through Crotona Park hours before Trump’s speech, said, however, that he found no problem with Trump coming to address his community.
“I don’t think he’s been that bad of a president,” Rios said, noting the stimulus payments made under Trump and adding that some of the concerns people had about him were exaggerated. “Biden is now and what is happening? Nothing different.”
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
