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No one was sure what to expect when Donald Trump visited the Bronx on Thursday — arguably one of the bluest areas in New York City, perhaps even in all of the United States.
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So it must have been shocking for Democrats to witness the sea of people showing their support for the former president.
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It is believed more than 25,000 were on hand at the campaign rally at Crotona Park, far more than the initial 3,500 that was expected, Fox News reported.
“I’m here tonight to declare we are going to turn New York City around, and we are going to turn it around very, very quickly,” Trump said after taking the stage, vowing to bring back safety and better schools to the city.
“We are going to make New York bigger, better and greater than ever before.”
He lamented how the city was “in decline” and how he has “never seen it quite like this,” referring to the violent crime that has gripped the city.
Trump went on to attack President Joe Biden, saying he isn’t “getting the job done” for Bronx residents.
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He added: “If a New Yorker can’t save this city, no one can. Who said we’re not going to win New York?”
The main concerns of many in attendance were the economy, inflation and illegal immigration, Fox News reported, and Trump read the room, reminding the crowd how inflation was a mere 1.4% when he was president and the U.S. “had the greatest economy in history.”
Video of the rally on social media showed a diverse group of supporters, so when Trump called for unity, the cheers were deafening.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re Black or brown or white or whatever the hell colour you are, it doesn’t matter,” he told the crowd. “We are all Americans and we’re gonna pull together as Americans.”
New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the Trump rally a stunt to pay for his legal fees.
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“He is broke. He needs to pay these legal funds. And bussing people in, in order to get those donations so that he can funnel them to his legal fees, is kind of his business right now,” she told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on Wednesday.
However, when Fox News spoke to rally attendees, they weren’t impressed by AOC, claiming she has “done nothing” for the Bronx, and while people in the community are struggling, “she doesn’t even know what struggle is.”
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One X post showed two videos — the first from Trump’s Bronx rally and the second a town hall meeting held by AOC in the Bronx from two years ago, where the attendance was dismal.
Trump was the first Republican presidential candidate to actively campaign for the general election in New York City in decades, and, should he pull off what many expect to be an impossible feat, would be the first to win the Empire State in 40 years.
Trump won less than 10% of the vote in the Bronx in 2016, but current polls suggest the former president is gaining traction with Black and Hispanic voters, according to Fox News.
If Trump wins in New York, he would be the first Republican presidential candidate to accomplish the feat since 1984, when Ronald Reagan won 49 states.
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