Liberal media commentators and New York Democrats have criticized former President Trump's campaign rally in the heavily Democratic Bronx, calling it "fake" and claiming it was filled with out-of-town supporters.
Far-left Democrats and media commentators have launched a barrage of attacks on former President Trump's campaign rally in the heavily Democratic Bronx, accusing him of staging a "fake" event and importing supporters from outside the area.
Trump's rally on Thursday drew a far larger crowd than the initial estimates of 3,500, with his campaign claiming 25,000 attendees. The massive turnout surprised even CNN reporter Kristen Holmes, who noted that many attendees were from the Bronx itself.
However, progressive Democrats and liberal commentators on MSNBC attempted to discredit the rally as a contrived stunt to win minority voters. New York Governor Kathy Hochul dismissed it as "made-up" and "fake," while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused Trump of bussing in supporters from out of state to "trick" her constituents.
Despite the claims, Fox News Digital observed a racially and religiously diverse group of thousands of people gathered at the event. Attendees traveled from as far as Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut, but many were also from the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens.
On MSNBC, hosts Alex Wagner and Joy Reid also tried to downplay the rally, with Wagner calling it a "fakey campaign stop" and Reid questioning "the point" of Trump speaking to minority voters in an area he "can never win."
MSNBC political analyst Charles Blow echoed these sentiments, suggesting that Trump was merely trying to project an image of outreach to minority voters in swing states and to soften the perception of him as racist.
The sour grapes attitude extended to social media posts by New York Democrats. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries claimed the Boston Red Sox were more popular than Trump in the South Bronx, while Rep. Ritchie Torres asserted that the rally was filled with "transplants" who were not representative of the local population.
Ahead of the rally, Torres downplayed Trump's chances of success in the area, calling him "radioactive" and "less popular than arsenic."
Trump himself addressed the crowd during the rally, vowing to bring back safety and better schools to New York City. He also pledged to make New York "bigger, better and greater than ever before."
Trump's rally marked a significant departure from the norm, as he became the first Republican presidential candidate in decades to actively campaign for the general election in New York City. Should he succeed in winning the Empire State, it would be the first time in 40 years that a Republican has done so.
Trump won less than 10% of the vote in the Bronx in 2016, but his support increased to 16% in 2020. Current polls indicate that he is making further gains with Black and Hispanic voters.
