The Trump rally in the Bronx was a panoply of humankind, at least of Americans. Blacks, Hispanics, Whites, and a few Asians (most New York Asian-Americans live in boroughs other than the Bronx). Religiously, there were Christians and Jews and likely other faiths and non-believers; I did not notice any Muslim women.
Folks from all five boroughs were in attendance with the Bronx unsurprisingly dominant in numbers.
Most T-shirts were what you would expect, but I did take a photo of one that read: “LESBIANS FOR TRUMP”, and a well-tattooed family man sported a shirt that read:
“JUST A REGULAR DAD TRYING NOT TO RAISE LIBERALS”.
I am not a good crowd estimator, but I believe that those of us who were inside the gates before the scheduled start time of 6:00pm were way over the supposed limit of 3,500 tickets, and the lines of “late comers” outside the gates were at least several thousand more. For those of us who had been standing outside or inside for more than 3 hours, the program mercifully began about 15 minutes ahead of schedule with several Bronxites making welcoming speeches.
Then Andrew Giuliani took the mic and introduced Congressman Byron Donalds (one of my favorites for VP, though I would be quite happy with several others). The speech from Rep. Donalds was relatively brief, for a politician, but powerful and the crowd loved him. He basically called for ending division based on race or ethnicity or religion. Another good thing: the lightweight nanny stater Kristi Noem was nowhere to be seen; perhaps she went back to Texas to have more work done on her smile.
Earlier the music consisted of songs like “Macho Man” and “YMCA”. For President Trump’s entrance they played: “God Bless the U.S.A.” (aka “Proud to Be an American”) by Lee Greenwood (as a fellow songwriter/performer I always believe it’s important to give credit where credit is due).
Among the President’s great qualities is his energy. After being in a courtroom all day, he takes the podium at 6:30pm and delivers a 90-minute speech. He turns 78 in a few weeks (Flag Day, how appropriate). During his speech, the President made all the usual and valid points, but there was, as one might expect, an emphasis on New York State, especially New York City, and most especially the Bronx.
Here are a few of his points that I found particularly interesting. New York and all states have in effect become border states as some other countries send some prison inmates and mental institution inmates to our southern border. While nearly every American is harmed by the flood of immigrants, the President pointed out that the greatest harm is to Blacks and Hispanics, the very people the Democrats say they are for.
Some other key points by President Trump: whether we are Black or White or Hispanic “or whatever the Hell you are”, we are all Americans. On Day 1, we will “replace Bidenomics with MAGAnomics”. And: “If a New Yorker can't solve our problems, nobody can.”
President Trump did an excellent job of explaining how weakness in foreign policy and moving away from energy independence led to the funding of Hamas and the horrors of October 7. He also gave dealing for 28,000 Mexican troops as an example of his negotiating skills.
Overall the speech was positive and largely oriented to the future. That’s a good thing. There were a few references to a rigged election, but not much. Going on and on about 2020 turns independents, moderates and traditional Democrats off; and many of those folks are starting to lean towards President Trump. You don't have to be a PhD in political science (I just happen to be one) to know that as a rule presidential elections are won by the candidate who presents the most appealing vision of the future.
Two interesting sidebars. One, for awhile I stood in line next to a gentleman wearing a T-shirt that I complimented him on (My Rights do not end where your feelings begin; or something to that affect). Turns out that not only had he been at the Wildwood, New Jersey rally, but that he had worked on or in three Trump properties. He said that Donald Trump is actually a kind, generous and big-hearted guy despite what the mainstream media would have you believe. Then I noticed that this gentleman was vaping quite a bit (not nicotine). I leaned over and asked him: “Do you think Donald Trump has more of a libertarian bent than most conservative Republicans?” He said:
“Absolutely.” All kinds of folks come to a Trump rally, and that's a good thing.
Two, if President Trump wins, he will join Grover Cleveland as the only other President to serve two non-consecutive terms. Cleveland lost the Electoral College vote to Benjamin Harrison in 1888. Grover Cleveland won the popular vote 3 times in a row, though only narrowly in 1888. If all goes well this year, Donald Trump will also join Cleveland as a candidate who won the popular vote 3 times in a row (IMHO).
In conclusion: I do not think President Trump will carry the Bronx or any New York City borough except Staten Island. But, depending on his choice of running mate, I think he may have an outside chance of carrying New York State. Having said that, I think overconfidence among Trump supporters is dangerous and my second greatest fear. My greatest fear is that we lose America in November; and when we lose America, we lose freedom and the rule of law.
PS: written completely without the aid of AI.
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