Former President Trump said Thursday that there’s a “very good chance” that he will win New York, which hasn’t voted for a Republican for president in 40 years, this November.
Trump, speaking with “Fox & Friends” co-host Lawrence Jones following a rally in South Bronx, showed confidence that the historically blue state could swing his way in the polls.
Jones asked Trump why he opted for a rally in the heart of New York City, an area where President Biden blew him out of the water in 2020.
“Well, because I’ve done very well with the vote. I love the people. They’re incredible, they’re energetic, they’re entrepreneurial, and they’re gonna save New York, and we’re gonna win New York. And if we win New York, the election’s over,” Trump responded.
Jones pressed the former president, asking if he really thinks he is going to win the Empire State.
“I think we have a chance to win in New York. It hasn’t been done in, you know, many, many decades as a Republican,” Trump said. “I think we have a very good chance.”
In 2020, Biden won New York with more than 60 percent of the vote.
Trump’s rally was held in a park in one of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods. Jones, who is Black, told Trump there were more people at the rally who “look like me than you,” and later said that Trump’s support is increasing among Black and Hispanic voters.
“I did things in office that nobody else has done, criminal justice reform. I did criminal justice reform at a level that nobody thought was possible to get. And I did that largely for the Black and Hispanic community, they’re the ones that wanted it,” Trump responded.
New York isn’t the only traditionally blue state the former president has visited recently; he’s also made stops in Minnesota and New Jersey.
Some strategists said Trump’s Bronx rally was less about actually flipping New York in November and more about showing his strength by drawing crowds at an unexpected location.
The spot was also conveniently close to Trump’s Manhattan court proceedings for his ongoing hush money trial.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who represents part of the Bronx, said Trump has a “legal version of an ankle bracelet” because it’s difficult for him to leave the five boroughs with the trial underway. She said the rally is more about fundraising to pay off his sprawling legal fees than anything else.