Donald Trump drew one of the most diverse rally crowds of his political career on Thursday when he made a pilgrimage to a New York borough that rejected him by a whopping 68 points in 2020.
Winning New York state is the longest of long shots for the former president, while pulling out a victory in the Bronx is inconceivable. But trends that were apparent Thursday at Trump’s rally there echoed broader themes of the campaign that have Democrats nervous headed into the fall: that a small but potentially powerful share of Black and Hispanic Americans, particularly younger voters, may break from President Joe Biden and vote for Trump or a third party or stay home.
See more images from the rally here.
NBC News spoke with nearly a dozen Bronx voters ahead of Trump’s speech, many of whom were not there to either attend his rally or a counterprotest. While some expressed disdain for him or said they felt he was crazy, others voiced appreciation for elements of his presidency — like the stimulus checks sent out during the Covid pandemic that bore his name — and said they saw no issue with his making an appearance in the Bronx.
Carolina de la Cruz, a Bronx resident who owns and operates a day care center, was taking some of her kids through Crotona Park on Thursday afternoon to, as she said, help them connect with nature and participate in “tree-hugging.” She was unaware that Trump was set to deliver an address in the park later that evening until she asked a police officer about the increased patrol.
No problem, she said. De la Cruz said that though she identified as a Democrat, she voted for Trump in 2020 and planned to vote for him this fall, too.
“We definitely need a change,” she said, adding that her neighborhood has become more chaotic in recent years and that other friends and family members who were repelled by Trump’s language and approach are now saying “we need” him back.
“They’re forgetting what he said, and they’re more focused on what he was doing in power,” she said.
What’s more, some voters expressed frustration over the influx of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border, particularly 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 rally after work 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 considering giving him an opportunity,” he said, adding: “I’m all about social justice and people coming here to better their lives. But I feel like in this administration there’s been a lack of control with the influx of individuals that are coming here, especially in New York, where we’re 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 has been in court four days a week in Manhattan for his criminal trial, which is coming to a close. A verdict could come as soon as next week.
The South Bronx rally was framed as an effort to reach out to minority voters, and the crowd was much more diverse than those at traditional Trump events. As is the case with other Trump rallies, however, 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, railed against Biden’s economic and immigration policies and painted the city, his longtime home, as an apocalyptic dystopia that only he can save.
“As soon as I get back into the Oval Office, I’m going to pick up the phone, I’m going to call your mayor and your governor, and I’m going to say, ‘This is President Trump, and I want to come back and help,” he said, adding he would make the people of New York “very, very happy.”
At various points, chants of “build the wall” and “send them back” broke out when Trump was discussing immigration, including when he said Black and Hispanic Americans were facing the biggest negative consequences of undocumented immigrants’ entering the country.
His pledges included taking “back 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 more Trump-friendly demographics in the city, were in attendance Thursday. When some Jewish attendees began chanting for the return of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, Trump said: “Many of the hostages that you’re waiting for, and everybody’s waiting for, are dead. And it’s a horrible thing.”
