Residents in the Bronx expressed support for former President Donald Trump ahead of his rally on Thursday evening, pointing out that “people need to see” that their president cares about them.
In an interview with Newsmax, several expressed that people in the city were “struggling” which led to people “getting desperate” and an increase in crime rates.
“We were just going to buy Windex to clean the windshield,” one man told the outlet. “Everything is expensive. Everybody is hurting. People need to see that their leader cares about them, and Donald Trump does care about them, and that’s why he’s coming here.”
The man added that people in the neighborhood were “paying 30, 40 percent” on certain items.
A poll from April by No Kid Hungry New York found that 85 percent of New Yorkers said the price of food is rising faster than their incomes were, while 47 percent said they were having a harder time being able to afford food.
On May 17, the Trump campaign announced that the former president would be holding a rally in the South Bronx at Crotona Park on May 23.
“Everybody’s struggling. People are getting desperate,” another man told the outlet, adding “That brings the crime up.”
The man continued, “When you get poverty and you get a bunch of people that come here that get actually more benefits than the people that been here, then what?”
“Donald Trump is the man!” another man said when asked why he wanted to see Trump at the rally on Thursday. “Everybody wanna see Donald Trump. Donald Trump is the man.”
The day after the Trump campaign announced the rally in the Bronx, supporters of the former president held a rally in the neighborhood to show their support for Trump ahead of his visit.
Artist Cherie Corso told the New York Post in an interview that she “lost friends” after expressing her support for the former president, adding that “he’s bombastic,” a “loudmouth” and “could ruin a wet dream.”
“But I liked his policies. And I still like his policies. And I don’t like the direction that the country’s gone,” Corso added. “So I definitely am going to vote for a Republican. I always vote Republican, and I’m always gonna vote for Trump.”
A recent Harvard-Harris poll found that Trump was leading President Joe Biden by six points nationally, with Trump receiving 49 percent while Biden received 43 percent.