Trump bombs the Bronx
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THE SOUTH BRONX, N.Y. — Former President Trump's rally on Thursday night drew a crowd that looked very different than the typical MAGA flock.
Why it matters: The unusual sight of Trump speaking to several thousand people in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in deep blue New York is a sign of the realignment happening between the two parties.
- Trump's GOP is becoming more working class and a little more multiracial.
- Democrats are gaining with more well-educated voters in the suburbs.
What we're watching: During a break in his criminal trial, Trump made a New York-focused pitch to construction workers, security guards, nurses, barbers — as well as some out-of-state activists — assembled outdoors at Crotona Park.
- "New Yorkers have something called common sense... and old fashioned common sense is exactly what I plan to bring back to the White House," Trump said.
- "We are going to make life in New York affordable again," Trump declared after talking extensively about his role building the Wollman Skating Rink in Central Park and a Bronx golf course.
- Another promise: "We are going to renovate New York's subway system so it no longer looks like it hasn't been cleaned since 1932."
The big picture: Ahead of Trump's rally yesterday, both the Biden and Trump campaigns rushed to paint to their opponents as racist and a worse choice for Black voters.
- The Biden campaign put out a digital and television ad that begins: "Trump disrespecting Black folk is nothing new." The campaign posted on X: "Let's remember that Trump is a lifelong racist."
- The Trump campaign responded with a reminder that Biden helped pass the 1994 Crime Bill that led to mass incarceration disproportionately impacting minorities.
The details: Sabrina Dixon, 28, a security guard from the North Bronx who attended the rally with her husband, was previously skeptical of Trump "because the 'grab em by the pussy' comment threw me off."
- But after studying up on his policies, she believes "he's actually trying to do good for America."
- "I don't think he's racist because I grew up watching Donald Trump on TV on Wrestlemania" she added. "Everybody loved him."
- Sam Gonzales, a 38-year-old barber from Astoria, told Axios he feels a certain kinship with Trump because he's from New York. "I support Trump for the simple fact that he's from Queens,"
The other side: New York Democrats like Rep. Ritchie Torres, whose district covers most of the South Bronx, bristled at the idea that Trump has much to offer.
- "Trump is not a defender of the police; he is a defunder of the police. He has advocated for defunding the federal law enforcement including the ATF which keeps guns off the streets," Torres told Axios in an interview.
- He noted that the Biden administration has invested more than $100 million in the redevelopment of Huntspoint Terminal Market in the heart of the South Bronx as well as $150 million to upgrade the Cross Bronx Expressway.
The bottom line: Trump's team is clear-eyed that Trump's chances of getting even close to winning areas like the Bronx are slim.
- But his efforts in places like New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia would go a long way in showing he is serious about courting nontraditional Republican voters, and could force Democrats to spend more resources shoring up the Democratic base.
