'It was a lovefest' — Trump woos minority voters in New York rally

Former US President Donald Trump has campaigned in one of the most Democratic counties in the nation, holding a rally in the South Bronx as he tries to woo minority voters days before a Manhattan jury will begin deliberations on whether to convict him of felony charges in his criminal "hush money" trial.

Trump on Thursday addressed a big crowd in Crotona Park, a public green space in a neighbourhood that is among the city's most diverse and impoverished areas, a change from the majority-white areas where he holds most of his rallies. The crowd included large numbers of Black and Hispanic voters; Spanish was heard throughout the crowd.

Trump, in his speech, cast himself as a better president for Black and Hispanic voters than Biden as he railed against the US president on immigration, an issue Trump has made central to his campaign.

He insisted "the biggest negative impact" of the influx of migrants in New York is "against our Black population and our Hispanic population who are losing their jobs, losing their housing, losing everything they can lose."

Store visits, photo-ops galore

With Trump confined to New York for much of the last six weeks because of his trial, the presumptive Republican nominee’s campaign has planned a series of local stops across his hometown before and after court. He visited a store in Harlem, dropped by a construction site, and held a photo op at a local firehouse.

But the Bronx rally was his first event open to the general public as he insists he is making a play to win an overwhelmingly Democratic state that hasn’t backed a Republican for president since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Besides creating a spectacle of rallygoers and protesters, the rally also allowed Trump to highlight what he argues are advantages on economic and immigration issues that could cut into key Democratic voting blocs.

"The strategy is to demonstrate to the voters of the Bronx and New York that this isn’t your typical presidential election, that Donald Trump is here to represent everybody and get our country back on track," said Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, a potential Trump running mate who grew up in Brooklyn and spoke at the rally.

The former president opened his rally with an ode to his hometown, talking about its humble beginnings as a small Dutch trading post before becoming a glamorous capital of culture that "inspired the entire world."

Trump reminisced on Thursday about his efforts to revitalise Central Park's Wollman Rink and people he knew in the real estate business.

"Everyone wanted to be here," he told the enthusiastic audience. “But sadly this is now a city in decline."

"If a New Yorker can't save this country," he went on to say, "no one can."

The Bronx Democratic Party protested Trump's appearance with its own event.

Members of multiple unions were present, holding signs that said "The Bronx says no to Trump" in both English and Spanish.

'We need a patriotic president'

Muhammad Ali, a 50-year-old who lives in the Bronx and said he planned to vote for Trump in November, said he once used to think the former president was a racist but his views have changed.

"We need a patriotic president at the moment and I find Donald Trump more patriotic for the moment than Joe Biden,” said Ali, a worker for New York’s transportation agency.

At least one New Yorker in the crowd said he knew Trump from his days as a local billionaire real estate developer.

Alfredo Rosado, 62, said he'd been a Trump supporter since 1998 when he worked for several months as a fill-in summer doorman at Trump’s Trump Tower building.

Rosado recounted how Trump had asked his name and stopped to chat. "He's the same person you see," he said of the former president.

Trump's campaign believes he can chip away at Biden's support among Black and Hispanic voters, particularly younger men who may not follow politics closely, but are frustrated by their economic situations and drawn to Trump’s tough-guy persona.

He's also argued the indictments he faces in New York and elsewhere make him relatable to Black voters frustrated by the criminal justice system, a statement that was harshly criticised by Biden's allies.

The rally comes during a pause in Trump’s criminal hush money trial. Court will resume following the Memorial Day weekend with closing arguments.

The jury will then decide whether Trump will become the first former president in the nation's history to be criminally convicted and whether he will be the first major party presidential candidate to run as a convicted felon.

The Bronx was once the most Democratic borough in the city. Barack Obama won 91.2 percent of the borough's vote in 2012, the highest in the state. Biden won 83.5 percent of the borough in 2020. Trump garnered only 16% of the vote.

As he wrapped up his speech, Trump said he woke up Thursday uncertain of the reception he'd get in the Bronx.

"I said, 'I wonder, will it be hostile or will it be friendly?'" he said. "It was beyond friendly. It was a lovefest."