You have to wonder what sorts of horrors passed through the minds of President Joe Biden and other Democrats as they saw how many people attended former President Donald Trump’s rally in the South Bronx on Thursday.
The turnout in the deep-blue New York borough must have inspired equal measures of shock and denial.
The Trump campaign estimated more than 25,000 attended the rally at Crotona Park, according to Fox News.
Law enforcement sources told the New York Post the crowd numbered 8,000 to 10,000 — still a sizable number.
Moreover, those in attendance defied the establishment media stereotype of rural, white MAGA voters.
The New York Times reported it was “a more diverse crowd than is typical of his rallies, with many Black and Hispanic voters sporting bright red ‘Make America Great Again’ hats and other Trump-themed apparel.”
A video of the crowd shared on X by one of Trump’s senior advisers, Dan Scavino Jr., provided visual evidence of the size and diversity of the crowd who showed up in support of the presumptive GOP nominee in this fall’s presidential race.
AMAZING! Happening Now in THE BRONX! #TRUMP2024 pic.twitter.com/pmuqiZZgG0
— Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) May 23, 2024
Even liberal news networks and reporters had to express their astonishment at the turnout.
CNN reporter Kristin Holmes said it was “certainly a bigger crowd than I think Democrats would like to see, particularly given that this is one of the bluest counties in the entire country.”
Even CNN is admitting President Trump’s rally in the Bronx was a massive success:
“Certainly a bigger crowd than I think Democrats would like to see, particularly given this is one of the bluest counties in the entire country!” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XScfuQmnVa
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) May 24, 2024
During his speech, Trump made the case for himself by touching on the issues voters have been most concerned about this cycle.
Namely, inflation, illegal immigration and the economy.
“I will give you low taxes, low inflation, low interest rates, rising wages, growing incomes and fair trade for the American worker,” the former president told the crowd. “And we will make energy affordable again by saying drill, baby, drill.”
Overall, the rally seemed to have been a massive success for Trump.
But does it show he has a chance to win the Bronx or at least the state of New York in this fall’s election?
Most likely not.
As Fox News noted, Trump won less than 10 percent of the vote in the Bronx in 2016, and that number increased to only 16 percent in the 2020 election.
Moreover, he wasn’t competitive in New York overall, receiving just 36.5 percent of the statewide vote in 2016 and a slightly improved 37.7 percent four years later.
Can Trump win New York in November?
Still, the fact that Trump was able to attract so many people in one of the bluest counties in the nation was an impressive achievement.
Turning New York red might not be feasible this year, but the success of this rally raises the possibility that Trump might win some typically blue areas.
If nothing else, it should at least tell the Democrats that victory is by no means assured.
And that must be their greatest cause for fear.
