Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday after day two of his hush-money trial visited the Harlem bodega where store clerk Jose Alba, 61, defended himself after being attacked by a violent customer in July 2022.
Alba was arrested and charged with second-degree murder after he stabbed the customer, Austin Simon, 35. Before that, Simon was captured on video going behind the counter and attacking him.
The charges were later dropped, and Alba is suing the city.
Trump was greeted by a crowd chanting, “Four more years!” in the Democrat stronghold of Manhattan.
Former President Donald Trump visits Sanaa convenient store, a bodega in upper Manhattan, minutes after leaving Manhattan criminal court, in New York, NY on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“This is a very exciting time for me because the bodegas association invited me. And I respect them, and they respect me. They want law and order, they have tremendous crime, tremendous crime over there, stores are being robbed,” he said.
“New York’s a lot different. And we’ll work with the mayor. We will work with the governor. And we’ll bring a lot of federal money, but we have to straight out New York. And that includes crime,” he added.
He posted on Truth Social: “MAKE NEW YORK SAFE AGAIN!”
He also posted “THANK YOU, HARLEM! #MAGA.”
He also said on the trial earlier in the day, “This is all politics, this is coming out of the White House. And you know, it makes me campaign locally, and that’s OK.”
“We’re doing better now than we’ve ever done, so I think it’s having a reverse effect,” he added. “All I want is fairness, and these people have to be treated better, the bodegas association, bodegas, because every week they’re being robbed two-three times, it’s crazy.”
He continued, “It’s Alvin Bragg’s fault. Alvin Bragg does nothing. He goes after guys like Trump.”
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