Trump Offers to Help New York Democrats as Thousands Attend Bronx Rally

Former President Donald Trump told a crowd of thousands of diverse supporters in the South Bronx on Thursday evening that he would offer his help to New York's Democratic leaders if he's reelected president in November.

Trump, the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party's presidential nomination, held a large rally in the deep-blue borough of New York City as his criminal trial related to 2016 hush money paid to adult-film star Stormy Daniels winds down in Manhattan. Closing arguments for the trial, in which Trump maintains his innocence, are slated for Tuesday.

The former president garnered just 16 percent of the vote in the Bronx in the 2020 election, whereas President Joe Biden won north of 80 percent, according to the Associated Press. However, as Trump and Republicans have made gains with Black and Hispanic voters, his campaign and conservative supporters in New York are hopeful he will perform better in the borough and the state in an expected rematch against Biden later this year. About 65 percent of Bronx residents are Hispanic and approximately 31 percent are Black.

Several rally attendees who said they were registered Democrats or had previously voted for Democratic presidential candidates told Newsweek they were now solidly behind Trump. For his part, Trump extended an olive branch to Democrats in his remarks, saying he planned to offer his support to local Democratic leaders if he wins a second term in the White House.