Former President Donald Trump campaigned on Thursday in one of the most Democratic counties in the nation, holding a rally in the South Bronx as he seeks to woo minority voters. This rally comes just days before a Manhattan jury begins deliberations on felony charges in his criminal hush money trial.
Trump addressed supporters in Crotona Park, a public green space in one of the city’s most diverse and impoverished neighborhoods. This setting marked a departure from the majority-white areas where he typically holds rallies. While the crowd was not as diverse as the South Bronx itself, it included significant numbers of Black and Hispanic voters, with Spanish frequently heard throughout.
In his speech, Trump positioned himself as a better president for Black and Hispanic voters than President Joe Biden, focusing heavily on immigration—a central issue in his campaign. He claimed that the influx of migrants in New York has a “biggest negative impact” on the city’s Black and Hispanic populations, asserting that they are “losing their jobs, losing their housing, losing everything they can lose.”
