Former President Donald Trump holds a rally in the historical Democratic district of the South Bronx on May 23, 2024, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Trump praised the history of New York, but lamented that it was "now a city in decline."
"I've never seen it quite like this," he said, noting the violent crime taking place on subways and homeless encampments across the city.
Trump went on to rail against President Biden, saying he wasn't "getting the job done" for the people of the Bronx, and that he was "grossly incompetent."
"If a New Yorker can't save this city, no one can," Trump declared to loud cheers. "Who said we're not going to win New York?"
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Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in the South Bronx in New York City on May 23, 2024. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
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 his 2016 presidential election victory. His support in the Bronx edged up to 16% in his 2020 re-election defeat, with Biden winning 83.5% of the vote, but current polls suggest the former president is making more gains with Black and Hispanic voters.
Trump’s campaign thinks the former president can make a dent in Biden's support among both demographics.
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Democrats planned a counterprotest to the massive rally, with the Bronx Democratic Party holding their own event in the same park. Fox News Digital noticed a small group of about a few hundred protesters outside the event, but police cleared them out with no massive disruption.
The event came during a brief pause in Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan. Closing arguments are expected when court resumes on Tuesday, following a break for the Memorial Day federal holiday.
Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on X at @BGillespieAL.
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