Donald Trump in Bronx must “terrify Democrats”: Top aide

Donald Trump’s recent presence in traditionally blue territory like the Bronx, New York, must “terrify Democrats,” Jason Miller, a top aide to the former president, wrote on social media on Sunday.

Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, will likely go up against President Joe Biden, the Democratic incumbent, again in November’s general election. While Biden has been fiercely campaigning in battleground states, Trump has been targeting populations that typically vote for the Democratic candidate.

“So in the same week, President Trump goes to the bright-blue Bronx and another political party’s convention, a week before that he goes to bright-blue Minnesota, and before that, he has stops at the Teamsters headquarters and SneakerCon and even a town hall on CNN during the Republican primary,” Miller, a senior adviser to Trump’s 2024 campaign, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.

He continued: “What’s now clear is that President Trump is changing the game and living in what normally would be considered Joe Biden’s political territory, and this has to terrify Democrats.”

Newsweek reached out to Trump and Biden’s campaigns via email for comment.

So in the same week, President Trump goes to the bright-blue Bronx and another political party’s convention, a week before that he goes to bright-blue Minnesota, and before that, he has stops at the Teamsters headquarters and SneakerCon and even a town hall on CNN during the…

— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) May 26, 2024

On Thursday, Trump held a rally in Crotona Park, South Bronx. New York has voted Democratic in the last nine presidential elections, largely because of New York City’s Democratic population. In 2020, Biden beat Trump in the Empire State by a 23.1 percent margin.

Trump has been spending a lot of time in New York while his Manhattan criminal trial is underway. The former president stands accused of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels alleged that she had an affair with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied the affair ever took place and pleaded not guilty to all charges, claiming the case is politically motivated against him.

Trump’s spokesperson Steven Cheung previously told Newsweek in a statement that 25,000 people attended the rally, however, others noted a smaller crowd size.

In a post to X, Fred Wellman, who hosts the On Democracy podcast on liberal news outlet MeidasTouch, shared a video from ABC7 Eyewitness News showing a zoomed-out view of Trump’s rally.

“New York’s ABC7 Reporter ⁦@jimdolan7⁩ was on the ground and they had a helicopter in the air to tell the real story of Trump’s ‘big’ rally in the south Bronx for the 11:00 news. The zoom out of Trump speaking and the real crowd size says it all. All they do is lie,” Wellman wrote.

New York’s ABC7 Reporter ⁦@jimdolan7⁩ was on the ground and they had a helicopter in the air to tell the real story of Trump’s “big” rally in the south Bronx for the 11:00 news. The zoom out of Trump speaking and the real crowd size says it all. All they do is lie. pic.twitter.com/JDMVlupjz8

— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) May 24, 2024

Earlier this month, Trump headlined a Republican fundraiser in Minnesota, telling attendees, “We’re going to win this state.” Minnesota has voted blue in the past 12 elections, with Biden winning the state against Trump in 2020 by a 7.1 percent margin. However, in 2016, Trump did come close to beating former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who had only a 1.5 percent margin of victory in Minnesota. Trump ultimately went on to win the national election.

The 2024 presidential election remains extremely tight, with FiveThirtyEight’s most recent national aggregation poll showing Trump leading Biden by 1.5 percentage points (41.4 to 39.9 percent).

Meanwhile on Saturday night, Trump spoke at the Libertarian National Convention, where he was booed after telling attendees to “nominate me or at least vote for me.”

In an emailed statement to Newsweek on Saturday night, Miller said Trump’s campaign “absolutely” knew “that it’s not exactly home base” for the former president.

“There will be people who want him to be there and people who don’t want him to be there, but we’re on offense and competing for non-traditional votes in order to unite the country,” Miller said. “President Trump is going to get credit for showing up and making clear he wants to earn votes from members of the Libertarian Party and people who view themselves as being more libertarian minded.”