It’s been 40 years since a Republican nominee has won New York in a presidential election. The last person to do so also happened to be another celebrity-turned-politician – Ronald Reagan – who won the left-leaning state in 1980 and 1984.
Trump supporters gather before a campaign rally in the Bronx borough of New York.Credit: AP
But with polls suggesting that support for Biden is waning, Trump has made an ambitious bid to flip New York to the Republicans or, at the very least, gain some traction among its black and Hispanic voters who have traditionally leant towards the Democrats.
The Bronx – the birthplace of hip-hop and home of the New York Yankees – has about 1.4 million residents, of which almost 30 per cent are black and 57 per cent identify as Hispanic.
During his speech, a fired-up Trump barely mentioned his legal woes, focusing instead on issues that resonated with the crowd: inflation, law and order, the border crisis.
His most audacious, and sometimes false, remarks included claims that the US economy was “the best in history” while he was president; that New York was being overrun by “migrant crime”; and that Hamas would not have invaded Israel and taken hostages “if the election wasn’t rigged” in 2020.
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Trump tried to portray migrants as violent, even as the Associated Press reported, studies show immigrants are not more likely to engage in criminality, and he falsely claimed they were “building an army”.
“It’s patriots like you who are going to save our country,” he told the audience. “We’re going to get out and vote like never before. We’re gonna make it too big to rig.”
Outside, in a different section of the park, counterprotesters from the Bronx held their own anti-Trump demonstration.
Among those in the crowd was Jamie Bauer, who said she did not believe Trump had any chance of flipping New York because “we’ve known him since the ’80s, and we know who we really is”, referring to his days as a Manhattan real estate tycoon and playboy socialite.
But she admitted she was worried about the election more broadly “because there are a lot of people across the United States who like the way Trump talks, they like that strong man thing, and they don’t really understand how much of a threat to democracy he is”.
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Long-time Bronx resident Amanda Septimo admitted that the area – known for its high rates of crime, poverty and substance use – had its share of problems.
“I won’t stand here and lie to you and say we’re getting it right all the time because we’re not,” said the Democratic state assembly member. “But does Donald Trump represent the path for a better future for the Bronx? Absolutely not.”
The rally comes two weeks after Trump hosted another event on the Jersey Shore earlier this month, which drew an estimated crowd of more than 80,000 people according to a spokesperson from the city of Wildwood, which issued the permit.
This time, only 3500 were allowed to enter the Crotona Park amphitheatre, but the crowds outside filled much of the surrounding area, with queues spilling out through the park and onto the main streets.
While there was no immediate estimate from police, the Trump campaign said at least said at least 20,000 people were gathered outside.
“This is some turnout,” Trump beamed. “We’re going to make New York great again.”
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