Trump goes to the Bronx

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May 23, 2024 View in browser   By Emily Ngo With help from Irie Sentner DRINKS ON US — Come celebrate the end of session with POLITICO. We’re hosting a happy hour on Wednesday, May 29, at the Albany War Room Tavern. Join fellow New York insiders for drinks and hors d'oeuvres, meet our editorial team and learn more about our coverage of politics, policy and power in Albany. You can RSVP here. New from New York Happening now: Former President Donald Trump will be holding a rally in the Bronx. It will be quite a scene. A new 9/11 memorial is being built in Queens, Mayor Eric Adams announced. A bill would require facilities that care for disabled young people to call 911 that are undergoing potential abuse. The Bronx, heavily Democratic and heavily working class, is the borough where Trump saw the steepest increase in support in New York City between 2016 and 2020. | Emily Ngo/POLITICO TRUMP HEADS TO THE BRONX: Supporters of Donald Trump — many clad in red and some holding “New York is Trump Country” signs — have been lining up all day in the South Bronx ahead of his campaign rally this evening. “President Trump is being welcomed with open arms,” Adam Solis of the New York Young Republican Club previewed in both English and Spanish in social media videos from Crotona Park. But can the presumptive Republican nominee for president win deep-blue New York? And can he win the Black and Latino voters he’s targeting with his remarks on inflation and crime? Highly unlikely, though Trump certainly wants to make a dent and an impression. The Bronx, heavily Democratic and heavily working class, is the borough where Trump saw the steepest increase in support in New York City between 2016 and 2020: 9.4 percent versus 15.7 percent. And recent public polls, including a New York Times/Siena College survey from March, have shown he’s making gains among African American and Latino voters. Trump’s campaign and his surrogates are arguing the Democratic Party has taken these voting blocs for granted and their quality of life has suffered under Democratic governance. Bronx Democrats, meanwhile, are reminding their neighbors what Trump actually stands for as the former president brings thousands of MAGA faithful to their borough. “I don’t think anything in Donald Trump’s history has ever supported claims that he’s going to work in favor of Black and Latino communities,” Assemblymember Kenny Burgos told Playbook. “The man has been a con artist since he’s been a public figure, and even as president, we’ve seen his actions in real-time from Puerto Rico’s hurricane crisis to his rhetoric overall about people of color, poor people.” Reps. Ritchie Torres and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have in recent days sought to counter-program the rally through local news media. “One of the reasons for the persistent poverty of the Bronx has been the far-right fanaticism that Trump himself embodies,” Torres wrote in a Daily News op-ed. “From the moment he entered politics, Trump has been waging war on the American poor, targeting anti-poverty programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which feeds 40 million Americans.” Ocasio-Cortez agreed that cost of living is crucial to Bronx residents but said it’s the Democrats who are leading the charge on affordability. “The cost of health care is so important to our folks — not just in the Bronx but across the city — making sure that we’re addressing the runaway housing crisis, the soaring cost of rent mortgages that I think is incredibly important, and of course, public safety issues, immigration,” she listed on PIX11. Trump’s appearance in the Bronx, his first in the city in eight years, comes ahead of next week’s closing arguments and jury deliberations in his Manhattan hush money trial. Ocasio-Cortez charged that his rally is more a “GoFundMe campaign” for his mounting legal bills than a political campaign. — Emily Ngo   THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists. Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY.     From the Capitol State Sen. Pete Harckham and Assemblymember Ron Kim are advancing a bill that would require staff at both public and private facilities working with disabled individuals to be retrained to deal with situations that involve “all suspicious and unexplained injuries.” | Hans Pennink/AP Photo PROTECTIONS FOR THE DISABLED: Assemblymember Ron Kim and state Sen. Pete Harckham are advancing a bill that would require mandatory 911 calls and incident reports for disabled young people that are undergoing potential abuse. The bill would require staff at both public and private facilities working with disabled individuals to be retrained to deal with situations that involve “all suspicious and unexplained injuries” to a 911 operator, the District Attorney's office and state regulators. “Far too many New Yorkers living with a disability or illness suffer wrongful deaths at the hands of the individuals who are meant to protect and care for them,” Kim, a Queens Democrat, said in a statement. The inspiration behind the bill comes from prominent disabled rights advocate Michael Carey, whose son, who had autism, died in the care of a state facility for disabled people in 2007. “I drafted this critical 911 Civil Rights Bill and have fought extremely hard for many years following the horrific death of my 13-year-old son Jonathan, who was developmentally disabled and had autism. Jonathan died because he was denied immediate 911 services,” Carey said in a statement. — Shawn Ness   POLITICO invites you to learn more about POLITICO's coverage of politics, policy and power in Albany. Join us on Wednesday, May 29 to connect with fellow New Yorkers over drinks and appetizers. RSVP HERE.     FROM CITY HALL A new memorial honoring the lives of 99 post-9/11 service members in Iraq and Afghanistan will be built in Queens. | Nutmegger 9/11 MEMORIALS: A new memorial honoring the lives of 99 post-9/11 service members in Iraq and Afghanistan will be erected in Queens, Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Veterans’ Services Commissioner James Wendon announced today. The memorial will be part of the Utopia Parkway Seawall replacement and street improvement project in Whitestone, which is home to the most 9/11 service members killed in the terrorist attacks, the mayor said. “With this new memorial, we will honor a new generation of souls who gave their lives far too early in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while simultaneously paying tribute to the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who have served our country in these wars,” Adams said in a statement. “I hope all New Yorkers will take the time to reflect on the sacrifice these brave men and women made. God bless their memories.” The funding will come from private donations as well as public capital money. — Shawn Ness On the Beats New York City estimates that it could see a record 68 million visitors by 2025. | AP Photo/Seth Wenig TOURISM WITH A FULL RECOVERY: New York City’s tourism sector has made a near full recovery with visitor spending approaching pre-pandemic levels, according to a report from Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. New York City estimates that it could see a record 68 million visitors by 2025. “The number of tourists is nearly back to pre-pandemic numbers in New York City,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “Visitor spending and the tax revenue this industry generates already exceed pre-pandemic levels, but the industry’s recovery won’t be complete until we see a full return of international and business travelers, and a full recovery of local jobs.” International travelers only make up 20 percent of the city’s visitors. At the pandemic’s height, there were roughly 2.4 million international visitors; there was an estimated 11.6 million in 2023, a 23 percent increase. New York City was still the most visited place in the country in 2023 with over 33 million visitors. Las Vegas and Los Angeles followed with 26 and 21 million visitors, respectively, the report said. However, not everything is back to normal. There are still 30,000 fewer jobs in the sector compared to pre-pandemic levels. — Shawn Ness  PRO-DTC DIG IN: Lawmakers who are trying to get final approval for a measure meant to allow consumers to directly purchase liquor and cider from manufacturers are bullish on the bill’s chances as the legislative session winds down. But Assemblymember Donna Lupardo and state Sen. James Skoufis are also trying to counteract what the two Democrats told reporters today are false claims about the impact, namely that kids would be able to buy alcohol off the internet and sent directly to their homes. “There are forces spreading lies and misinformation about what we’re trying to do here,” Lupardo told reporters at a joint news conference with Skoufis. Small-time cideries and distilleries are pressing for the measure as a means to help expand their businesses. It has also been endorsed by the New York Farm Bureau. But liquor stores in the state have been opposed over concerns it would impact their bottom lines. Retired law enforcement officials have also been opposed. But the lawmakers have also tried to push back against what they said amounts to an astroturf opposition. “This is our attempt to get the truth out amid the lies being perpetrated from the other side,” Skoufis said. — Nick Reisman AROUND NEW YORK — New York City plans to send eighth-grade students on field trips to the Holocaust Museum as part of an effort to address antisemitism. (The New York Times) — How a hotel developer bought her way into Adams’ world — then won favors from City Hall. (THE CITY) — The man who owns seven unlicensed illegal cannabis shops has been fined $15 million after the state asked him to cease his operations. (State of Politics)   Follow us on Twitter Joseph Spector @JoeSpectorNY   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

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