NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Former President Donald Trump held a rally in the South Bronx on Thursday to win over minority voters days before a Manhattan jury will begin deliberations on whether to convict him of felony charges in his criminal hush money trial.
The Bronx rally was Trump's first event in the state since 2016, and he insists he is making a play to win an overwhelmingly Democratic state that hasn't backed a Republican for president since Ronald Reagan in 1984. Besides creating a spectacle of rallygoers and protesters, the rally also allowed Trump to highlight what he argues are advantages on economic and immigration issues that could cut into key Democratic voting blocs.
His one and a half hour speech addressed New Yorkers directly, with focus on how he could help rebuild the city and country.
1010 WINS talks with rallygoers
1010 WINS' Mack Rosenberg attended the rally and spoke with attendees about the former president, and why he has their support.
While some question why Trump would hold a rally in such a deeply blue area, Wayne thinks that it was an attempt to reach those often outside of his message.
“He wanted to reach out to the people who don’t hear from him,” Wayne said.
John agreed with many of Trump’s talking points about the declining nature of the city, stating that he has seen it since Biden took office.
“New York is hurting right now, the last few years.
People can’t afford their mortgages, their taxes, their college. And a lot of people I know are moving out,” he said.
The message was echoed by Maria-Lynn, who said that the Democratic Party has moved too far on the political spectrum.
“When the Democrat Party seems to have gone far-left, they left most of us New Yorkers stranded,” she said.
Eduardo, of the Bronx, agrees with Trump’s criticisms of the migrant crisis. Wearing a shirt that read “Guatemalan Americans for Trump,” the teacher told 1010 WINS that rules are made to be followed.
“We are here to work, to study, we’re not trying to break rules. But what’s going on right now, it makes me mad, because rather than consequences, they’re getting money funded from the Adams administration,” he said.
Trump says the rally is a 'lovefest'
The former president told the crowd that he wasn’t sure what his reception in the Bronx would be like, but that he found it overwhelmingly positive.
Trump: Impeachments, lawsuits are illegitimate and meant to harm a political opponent
Trump doubles down on his longstanding position that the impeachment proceedings and lawsuits brought against him were done for illegitimate reasons motivated by politics.
“Impeachment hoax number one, impeachment hoax number 2, lawsuits. And they’re doing it to injure the political opponent of an incompetent candidate because he can’t run fairly and squarely,” he said in reference to Biden.
Trump calls influx of migrants into the US, NYC unsustainable
“This situation is sustainable by no country,” Trump said of the migrant crisis, followed by a crowd response of "send them back."
Trump cast himself as a better president for Black and Hispanic voters than Biden as he railed against Biden's immigration policy, an issue Trump has made central to his campaign. He insisted “the biggest negative impact” of the influx of migrants in New York is “against our Black population and our Hispanic population who are losing their jobs, losing their housing, losing everything they can lose."
Some in the crowd responded by chanting, “Build the wall,” a reference to Trump's push while in the White House to build a U.S.-Mexico border barrier.
Trump: Biden is 'grossly incompetent'
Trump said that President Joe Biden is unfit to do what needs to be done in New York City and across the nation, while he is ready to take action.
“He’s not getting the job done for New York, and he is not getting the job done for America. He is incompetent ladies and gentleman, he is grossly incompetent. I’ll get the job done as I did for four years, and I’ll get it done fast,” he said.
The former president disparages Biden throughout his speech, at one point stating that "Bident doesn't know when he's alive."
Trump says NYC is in decline, but he will make the city great again
Trump comments on the state of New York City, zeroing in on sanitation, infrastructure and crime issues.
“Our subways are squalled and unsafe, the ceiling tiles are falling down, and they look worse than a third-world country,” he said. “The medians of our highways are crumbling, our sidewalks are littered with garbage bottles and trash.”
He goes on to state that he will not abandon the city.
“We are not going to let this continue. We are not going to abandon our hope and our pride. This city has given us so much, and now it is time that we are going to give it back. Together we are going to make New York City great again,” Trump said.
6:30 P.M. - Trump takes the stage in the South Bronx
4 P.M. - Trump campaign promises 'we'll put on the biggest rally anyone has ever seen'
The Trump campaign sent a fundraising email — signed by the former president — two hours before the rally asking supporters to donate.
"Before I get on stage, I’m calling on EVERY Patriot reading this message to chip in and say, I STAND WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP," read the plea.
Taking aim at the Democrats, the Queens native wrote, "we’ll put on the BIGGEST RALLY anyone has ever seen & show they FAILED."
4 P.M. - Counter protestors gather near Trump's Bronx rally
Some counter-protesters also started to gather near the area where Trump is expected to hold a rally later today at 6 p.m.
One protester was seen carrying a “Convict Trump Already” banner.
3 P.M. - South Bronx is getting ready for Trump's rally in Bronx
Reporter Mack Rosenberg is near Crotona Park where the rally will take place at 6 p.m.
People are starting to gather for the rally, as shown in a video of the scene. A small crowd is starting to form and some supporters are holding signs or wearing Trump-themed clothing as they slowly make their way to the park.
Among the crowd, vendors are setting up stalls and tables, selling Trump merchandise like hats, T-shirts, flags, and other items.
1 P.M. - Richie Torres calls Trump the 'most unpopular political figure in the Bronx'
Bronx Congressman Richie Torres joined WCBS 880 and spoke about the expected turnout at Trump's Bronx rally.
"It's hard to tell, but I suspect he's gonna have a much smaller crowd in the Bronx than he would elsewhere," Torres stated. He emphasized Trump's unpopularity in the area, describing him as "the most unpopular political figure in the Bronx" and "so deeply unpopular as to be radioactive."
For security concerns, Torres confirmed that the NYPD will be heavily involved, with plans for a police presence at both the rally and the counter protests.
The Bronx Democratic Party is planning to protest Trump's appearance with its own event at the park.
Torres did not hold back in his criticism of the former president's impact on the Bronx. "Donald Trump's presidency was a catastrophe for the Bronx," he said. He highlighted the high death toll in the borough due to the COVID-19 pandemic, attributing it to Trump's "gross mismanagement." "He brought preventable death and destruction to the borough," Torres said, adding that Trump should be "apologizing to the people of the Bronx for the lasting damage that he's done."
In response to the rally, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, Brian Hughes, claimed that the event is part of an effort to reach out to non-traditional Republican constituents.
Torres, however, dismissed this rationale as disingenuous. "No one should be fooled by Donald Trump's dissected marketing," he said. Torres suggested that Trump's presence in the Bronx is more about his legal troubles than genuine outreach. "If Donald Trump did not have a criminal trial in New York City, he would never be quite dead campaigning in the South Bronx. He's a criminal suspect with more than 91 felony counts," Torres said. "The only reason he's running for president is to pardon himself, to protect himself from criminal prosecution."
As Trump plans to address issues like inflation, crime, and the migrant crisis—topics of significant concern to New Yorkers—Torres remained critical about Trump's approach to these issue. "Donald Trump has done nothing to address the cost of living in places like the Bronx," he said. Torres then went on to talk about President Biden's actions, such as capping the price of insulin at $35 a month for senior citizens on Medicare, a move he described as "a game changer and a lifesaver for the Bronx, which has among the highest rates of diabetes in the country." Torres concluded, "President Biden has delivered where Donald Trump has failed."
12:30 P.M. – NYS Assemblywoman Amanda Septimo will attend counter-rally, thought Trump’s event was a 'joke'
New York State Assemblywoman Amanda Septimo, of the Bronx, will attend the Democrats' counter-rally in Crotona Park, and emphasized that Trump has few political fans in the area.
“I thought that it must be some sort of joke,” Septimo told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880. “We know that the Bronx is overwhelmingly going to choose Joe Biden, and so I was surprised that Donald Trump would come to a place that he obviously can’t win.”
Despite the negligible chance that Trump’s rally will shift voting expectations in the area, Septimo said that lawmakers wanted to fight back against what she called the former president's exploitation of the area.
“We wanted to make sure that Donald Trump doesn’t think he can come to a place like the Bronx and exploit the history of struggle of our people and use it to weaponize it for his own purposes,” she said.
12 P.M. - AOC roasts Trump ahead of rally in Bronx
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized former President Donald Trump ahead of his Thursday rally in the Bronx, stating that the majority of the supporters who show up will be people “who have never even been to the Bronx before.”
While Ocasio-Cortez is not exactly rolling out the welcome mat for Trump’s rally, she did acknowledge that the former president has his supporters. “I mean, of course, this is a very diverse city,” Ocasio-Cortez told 1010 WINS. “He’s going to have supporters there."
However, she emphasized that these supporters do not represent the majority in the Bronx or the broader borough, yet they are “absolutely entitled to their first amendment rights.”
When asked about Trump’s chances in the current political climate of New York, Ocasio-Cortez responded with a laugh.
11 A.M. - 'Trump isn’t welcome in the Bronx,' Dem. say
The Bronx Democratic Party is planning to protest Trump's appearance with its own event at the park.
Trump’s campaign believes he can chip away at President Joe Biden’s support among Black and Hispanic voters, particularly younger men who may not follow politics closely, but are frustrated by their economic situations and drawn to Trump’s tough-guy persona.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.