Trump rallies in the South Bronx as he seeks to win over Black and Hispanic voters

Donald Trump drew one of the most diverse rally crowds of his political career on Thursday when he made a pilgrimage to a New York borough that rejected him by a whopping 68 points in 2020.

Winning New York state is the longest of long shots for the former president, while pulling out a victory in the Bronx is inconceivable. But trends that were apparent Thursday at Trump’s rally there echoed broader themes of the campaign that have Democrats nervous headed into the fall: that a small but potentially powerful share of Black and Hispanic Americans, particularly younger voters, may break from President Joe Biden and vote for Trump or a third party or stay home.

NBC News spoke with nearly a dozen Bronx voters ahead of Trump’s speech, many of whom were not there to either attend his rally or a counterprotest. While some expressed disdain for him or said they felt he was crazy, others voiced appreciation for elements of his presidency — like the stimulus checks sent out during the Covid pandemic that bore his name — and said they saw no issue with his making an appearance in the Bronx.

Carolina de la Cruz, a Bronx resident who owns and operates a day care center, was taking some of her kids through Crotona Park on Thursday afternoon to, as she said, help them connect with nature and participate in “tree-hugging.” She was unaware that Trump was set to deliver an address in the park later that evening until she asked a police officer about the increased patrol.

No problem, she said. De la Cruz said that though she identified as a Democrat, she voted for Trump in 2020 and planned to vote for him this fall, too.

“We definitely need a change,” she said, adding that her neighborhood has become more chaotic in recent years and