Trump set for historic Bronx rally: Thousands descend on New York City as ... trends now
Thousands of New Yorkers are descending on The Bronx for Donald Trump's historic rally on Thursday night.
The former president's MAGA faithful braved heavy rain to head to Crotona Park, hours before he was due to take the stage in the deep-blue district Joe Biden won with more than 60 percent of the vote in 2020.
Trump, 77, is the first Republican to visit the the area for a campaign event in 40 years and is looking to woo black and Hispanic voters away from Biden.
In the event's announcement, Trump's campaign said the visit will highlight Biden's 'disastrous' record on the economy and surge in violent crime.
The ex-president and former New Yorker insists he could win the state in November.
Those chances are extremely slim for Republican presumptive nominee and an even greater stretch in the Bronx.
But locals heading to the event are furious at Biden and the state of the economy.
New Yorkers line up in Crotona Park in the South Bronx ahead of Donald Trump's rally on Thursday night
Biden beat Trump in the Empire State by double-digits in 2020 with more than 60 percent of the vote to Trump's less than 38 percent.
Trump won less than 10 percent of the Bronx in 2016. In 2020, he won just 16 percent of the borough against Biden.
No Republican presidential candidate has won New York state in the presidential election since President Ronald Reagan in 1984.
Trump has been in New York for his criminal trial as he faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records over the hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Outside the courthouse, he has made several stops throughout the city including visiting a firehouse, construction site and a bodega.
Ahead of the rally in the Bronx, Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres who represents the districts slammed the ex-president visiting his neighborhood.
'It's obvious to all of us that his priority is not the people of the Bronx,' Torres said on MSNBC. 'His priority is a self-pardon and self-preservation.'
'His presidency was a catastrophe for the Bronx, his mismanagement of COVID left a death toll of more than 7,000 in the Bronx which is greater than the combined death count of Pearl Harbor and 9/11.'
Torres said instead of holding a rally he should be 'apologizing for the damage he's done.'
The congressman said he's confident the people of the Bronx are not going to 'buy the snake oil he's selling.'
On Thursday morning, the region was pummeled by thunderstorms. Progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reposted a video of the torrential downpour soaking the location of the Trump rally with the caption 'God is good.'
While conditions are expected to improve later, the park could be damp and muddy for those attending.
MAGA fans take selfie with George Santos, the former Republican congressman expelled from Congress for lying over swathes of his resume
A New York member of the MAGA faithful wears a shirt with a version of Trump's mugshot
