Trump vows to ‘make NYC great again’ at boisterous Crotona Park rally

Politics, US News, 2024 presidential election, campaigns, donald trump, joe biden, manhattan criminal court, new jersey, new york, the bronx

Former President Donald Trump promised Thursday evening to “make New York City great again” during a raucous rally in the South Bronx, his first major campaign event in the state of his birth since 2016.

“This is some turnout,” Trump told a rowdy crowd in Crotona Park. “We have thousands of people outside the gate.”

The event was permitted to host up to 3,500 people, but thousands more gathered outside security checkpoints in the 127.5-acre public park in the hope of catching a glimpse of the 45th president or a snatch of his remarks.

Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita claimed to The Post that 20,000 people had RSVPed to the event, thought no immediate crowd estimate was made available by the NYPD.

In his remarks, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee lamented that “Joe Biden is not getting the job done for the Bronx” and “not getting the job done for New York.”

“Our subways are squalid and unsafe, the ceiling tiles are falling down, and they look worse than a Third World country,” continued Trump, 77. “The medians of our highways are crumbling, our sidewalks are littered with garbage bottles and trash.

“But worst of all are the discarded needles from people that so desperately are in need of help,” he went on.

“And we have mobs of migrants fighting our police officers and giving America the middle finger,
but we are not going to let this continue,” Trump declared.

“Joe Biden is the worst president in the history of our country,” the former president added later in his remarks. “He has no sense – doesn’t know what he’s doing, is grossly incompetent.”

“Our country’s going to hell, but we’re gonna turn it around,” he vowed.

At least one protest group – Rise and Resist – lined up near the entrance to the rally and unfurled a banner that read, “No dictators in USA,” ahead of Trump’s speech.

“Convict Trump already,” another protester’s sign read.

The Post witnessed a screaming match between one protester and a Trump supporter in one of the huge lines to get into the park.

There was also a small scuffle between Trumpers and anti-Trumpers, with some pushing and shoving, outside the gates.

There was a strong odor of marijuana in the air as well, though it was unclear if it was coming from protesters or Trump supporters.

There were no immediate reports of arrests or injuries.

Trump, who officially moved to his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort in 2019, has been stuck in Manhattan since mid-April as he stands trial on charges of falsifying business records to conceal “hush money” payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.

The Republican’s campaign team has aimed to make good use of Trump’s enforced time in the city as part of a larger strategy to reach out to traditional Democrat voters.

In the deep-blue Bronx, where Trump received 16% support four years ago, voter registration tables were set up right by the stage in Crotona Park.

More than 50 people attending the rally had registered to vote in the hours before Trump’s speech, which organizers deemed a good number while hoping for more.

With no court proceedings Thursday, the former president spent the day golfing at his Bedminster club in New Jersey before heading back to Trump Tower late in the afternoon and making the 10-mile drive from Midtown Manhattan to Crotona Park.

Thursday’s rally followed a seaside spectacle May 11 in the Jersey Shore town of Wildwood, which drew an estimated 100,000 fans of the former president to the Garden State.

Despite the outreach, it would be a major upset for Trump to take New York or New Jersey in 2024.

An April Siena College poll showed President Biden up 10 percentage points on Trump in the Empire State, and an Emerson College Polling survey from March had the incumbent up by seven percentage points in the Garden State.

OTHER NEWS

21 minutes ago

Postecoglou lures A-League double act to join Tottenham staff

21 minutes ago

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie 'could be a real asset' as King reconsiders slimmed-down monarchy

21 minutes ago

2025 Volkswagen Golf R: Hot hatch gets hotter

21 minutes ago

Future of Laybuy unknown after company placed into receivership

21 minutes ago

Melbourne star Christian Petracca says season-ending King's Birthday injuries 'the most traumatic thing I've experienced'

21 minutes ago

Volkswagen dropping $5bn into struggling EV maker Rivian

21 minutes ago

Gary Neville says England substitute 'must start' Euro 2024 last-16 tie

21 minutes ago

KF-21 Fighter: KAI Signs $1.41 Billion Deal To Start Production Of South Korean Air Force Next-Gen Jet

21 minutes ago

Celine Dion’s sweet friendship with Aussie music legend John Farnham

22 minutes ago

Ramnaresh Sarwan predicts mass exodus of West Indies players to the US

22 minutes ago

Jeremy Renner felt his skull crack in hellish snowplough accident

23 minutes ago

A US$100 billion bet on China’s economy sours as warehouses empty

23 minutes ago

India's Rahul Gandhi appointed as parliamentary leader of opposition

25 minutes ago

America's largest outdoor mineral springs resort is coming to Houston

29 minutes ago

Katie Holmes receives award in Italy in stunning off-white gown

29 minutes ago

Hearing on removal of Jack Smith from Trump case concludes

29 minutes ago

Titans' Rashad Weaver: 'It's time to take a leap' in Year 4

29 minutes ago

Woman Has Internet Hooked With Daily Vlogs as Moulin Rouge Dancer

29 minutes ago

China rover returns historic samples from far side of the moon — and they may contain secrets to Earth's deep past

29 minutes ago

2024 Volkswagen Golf R brings power boost and new tech

29 minutes ago

Julian Assange Pleads Guilty to Espionage, Securing His Freedom

29 minutes ago

Estimated declaration times of General Election results: Alphabetical list

29 minutes ago

Farage called out over comments

29 minutes ago

£1.4bn worth of PPE from single firm was destroyed or written off

29 minutes ago

Lol: Woman drank alcohol from her handbag at fancy restaurant, Mzansi laughs

29 minutes ago

Woman Not 'Satisfied' With Carpet Job—Then Cleaner Shared the Before Photo

33 minutes ago

Jacksonville approves $1.4B renovation of Jaguars stadium

33 minutes ago

Guatemala appeals court revokes judge's order to give house arrest to renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora

33 minutes ago

Suspected Yemen Houthi attack targets vessel in waters farther away than many previous assaults

33 minutes ago

Guatemalan appeals court revokes order to grant house arrest to journalist José Rubén Zamora

34 minutes ago

Valley View tornado survivor continues to heal after suffering broken ribs, a punctured lung and blood clot

34 minutes ago

Canada beats Peru 1-0 for first ever Copa America win

34 minutes ago

Woman found shot to death in Illinois farm field finally identified after nearly 50 years

34 minutes ago

Kenya Moore Breaks Her Silence After ‘RHOA’ Season 16 Exit

34 minutes ago

A skydiving accident left him a double amputee. Now he’s a snowboarding champion

37 minutes ago

Video: Michael Phelps says false doping accusations eroded 'a lifetime of mental health growth' - and now regulators turning a blind eye to accusations of China doing just that

37 minutes ago

Video: Nigel Farage makes thinly veiled swipe after being booed by crowd as he wins best news presenter at the TRIC Awards

38 minutes ago

Newly sworn-in ANC MP Zizi Kodwa: State’s case against me is ‘nonexistent’

38 minutes ago

John 5 Responds to Accusations of Guitar Miming With Motley Crue

38 minutes ago

Despite political uncertainty, Cape Town's office rental market thrives