OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Several observers responded to a CNN report posted on social media covering former President Donald Trump’s Bronx rally by saying the correspondent appeared to have a pained expression when noting the size of the crowd.
The clip posted online featured host Anderson Cooper talking to national correspondent Kristen Holmes as he asked her about the “kind of response” Trump received.
Her response likely isn’t something that President Joe Biden’s campaign nor that of members of his party wanted to hear.
“Certainly a bigger crowd than Democrats would like to see,” Holmes said. “This is one of the bluest counties in the entire country. Trump’s campaign plans to ‘micro-target’ urban voters. The former president’s Bronx rally was filled with, well, Bronx voters.
“I’ve gone to a lot of these rallies across the country, and there are often people who travel hundreds of miles to see Donald Trump and they’re not necessarily part of the community. However, one of the things that I found was that there are a lot of people here who are actually from the Bronx,” she continued.
“You had people saying he doesn’t belong here. But you also had a number of voters who told me that they had supported Biden in 2020. They were very unhappy, particularly with the state of the economy, and they were looking for alternatives, namely former President Donald Trump,” she continued. Trump stayed “remarkably on message here talking about things that do matter to New York voters, talking about helping with infrastructure, helping with jobs.”
WATCH:
CNN reporter admits the Bronx Trump rally was a huge success.
Anderson Cooper was hoping for a different answer.pic.twitter.com/97z0UA9zHv
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) May 24, 2024
Madeline Brame, the mother of a U.S. Army veteran who was fatally stabbed to death in the Bronx, attended the rally and described it as a “magical” multi-ethnic experience during a Fox News interview. She also blasted her former Democratic Party for doing nothing but harm to her community over the past several decades.
“Sixty, 70 years of being loyal to a party that has never returned anything to our community. We have got nothing but welfare on top of welfare, crime, dilapidated housing failing schools, safe injection sites, abortion clinics, liquor stores…legal weed spots,” she told host Will Cain. “This is all they give us because they think…it will pacify us. Keep all that crap.”
WATCH:
Madeline Brame, the mother of an army veteran who was brutally stabbed to death in Harlem and a former Bronx resident, SLAMS Democrats for demonizing comments about Trump supporters and UNLEASHES hard-hitting facts:
“60, 70 years of being loyal to a party that has never returned… pic.twitter.com/oU9gtTKAlk
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) May 25, 2024
New York Democrat headed to the Bronx Rally:
“Biden’s policies are destroying America. Things just keep getting worse and worse. He might get us into WWIII.”
“[Trump] says stuff that angers me but his policies were much better. You can’t even compare.” pic.twitter.com/yYzqKJMwb5
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 23, 2024
Trump, meanwhile, has agreed to a new debate format for an upcoming showdown with President Joe Biden.
The 45th president normally prefers to stand during his debates, but the New York Post reported that he has agreed to sit at a table with Biden after the 81-year-old commander-in-chief’s campaign requested it.
“I hear now we’re sitting at tables. I don’t want to sit at a table,” Trump told John Catsimatidis and Rita Cosby during an appearance on the “Cats & Cosby Show” on WABC 770 AM.
“I said, ‘No, let’s stand.’ But they want to sit at a table,” Trump said. “So we’ll be sitting at a table as opposed to doing it the way you should be, in my opinion, in a debate.”
The presumptive GOP presidential nominee went on to explain that his personal preference would be to “walk out to a podium” and “stand for an hour and a half or two hours.”
