ByWard Clark |1:15 PM on May 23, 2024
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Whatever anyone has to say about former President Donald Trump, one has to admit, the man has chutzpah, and a certain ability to make lemonade out of the sourest of lemons. His being restricted to New York in the ongoing, farcical "hush money" trial has hampered his campaigning; he's making up for it with a few high-profile appearances, and now, on Thursday, he will cap it all with a typically Trumpian rally — in the South Bronx. Fox News' Rachel Campos-Duffy, in advance of Thursday's rally, took to the streets to talk to some of the regular folks about all things Trump and some of their responses were... interesting.
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As Campos-Duffy toured the neighborhood, residents described Trump on "Fox & Friends" as being for the "little man" and that the former president has shown a lot of respect to the Bronx by visiting.
"Senior citizens cannot walk down the street. Our children are being killed. When you go to a grocery store, you can't even buy anything anymore," said Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr., president of New York's Hispanic Clergy Association.
"I’m a Democrat. All my life I've been a Democrat, but Democrats have used us and abused us, they think that they own us. Donald Trump is giving us an opportunity."
That last statement by Rev. Diaz is interesting, as it reflects something many of us on the right have been saying for years: Democrats tend to take urban voters for granted. That may be changing. Crime, unchecked immigration, inflation, the loss of small businesses — all of these are issues on which Trump wins.
Another voter told Campos-Duffy that Republicans should be aware that just because voters are registered as Democrats, not all are voting for Democrat candidates.
"I happen to be one of those Democrats that hasn't voted Democrat since the age of Ronald Reagan."
In a major throwdown to Democrats, former President Trump will host a campaign rally in the Bronx on Thursday as he sets his sights on flipping the Empire State red this November, a situation that would have been unfathomable in 2021 when he departed the White House.
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Flipping New York red is still the longest of long shots; the last time the Empire State's Electoral College votes went for a Republican presidential candidate was in 1984, in Ronald Reagan's historic 49-state re-election landslide. But you can't win if you don't play, and Trump sure seems to be making a play for New York. Trump is playing on the Democrats' home turf, which certainly implies confidence, and he's already making speculations about his second-term cabinet.
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On the off chance Trump, on election day, does take New York — and bear in mind that outside of the city itself, New York has plenty of red counties — then we will know early on in the reporting process that a landslide is underway. That's not as impossible as it sounds, given current trends in polling.
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One Bronx resident confided this to Rachel Campos-Duffy:
"Black people and Hispanic people are very happy about him coming here, and they want to see the options, and they want to see Democrats step their game up. Republicans have an opportunity here that they can't let go," said a resident.
Sadly, the opportunity has been there for years. Just as Democrats have taken urban voters for granted, few Republican candidates have made a serious play for their votes. But as America's Songwriter observed, the times, they are a-changin', and a lot of those changes are due to the fact that Donald Trump is a creature of New York, of one of the urban megalopolises that have for generations reliably voted Democrat. He understands the urban neighborhoods, he seems to have an innate feel for people and what makes them tick, and while it's still the longest of long shots if any Republican in the game today could flip New York, it would be Donald Trump.
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We will watch his rally in the South Bronx with great interest.
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