CNN reporter surprised by the large turnout at Trump’s rally in the Bronx, noting it’s more than Democrats expected

CNN reporter Kristen Holmes was on the ground at former President Donald Trump’s rally in the Bronx on Thursday and said the size of the crowd was stunning, considering Trump’s event was in “one of the bluest counties in the entire country.”

Trump, who is still facing trial in Manhattan over his alleged hush-money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels, attracted a massive crowd for his campaign rally in the South Bronx. During the rally, Trump was joined on stage at one point by rappers “Sheff G” and “Sleepy Hallow,” who both endorsed him, and some Bronx residents expressed their surprise that a presidential candidate would hold a rally in their neighborhood.

While describing the rally to CNN host Anderson Cooper, Holmes said Trump had attracted “a bigger crowd than I think Democrats would like to see, particularly given this is one of the bluest counties in the entire country.”

Holmes added that Trump’s event in the Bronx didn’t just pull in people from miles away who travel to the former president’s campaign rallies.

“One of the things that was interesting to me is that the Trump campaign said that they were going to micro-target to get people from the community to come to this rally. I wasn’t sure what to expect, 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 were a lot of people here that were actually from the Bronx,” Holmes reported.

Even CNN is admitting President Trump’s rally in the Bronx was a massive success:

“Certainly a bigger crowd than I think Democrats would like to see, particularly given this is one of the bluest counties in the entire country!” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XScfuQmnVa

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) May 24, 2024

One of the Democrats who could be concerned about the thousands of people gathering to hear Trump speak in the Bronx is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who previously slammed Trump for holding a rally in her backyard. Ocasio-Cortez said earlier on Thursday that Trump is only holding a rally in the South Bronx “because he’s got court.”

“The man practically has the legal version of an ankle bracelet around him and he can’t leave the Five Boroughs because he always has to be in court,” she added. “And so it is truly an embarrassment to him.”

Ocasio-Cortez also posted on X that “God is good” in response to reports of rain potentially hindering Trump’s rally.

God is Good 🙏🏽 https://t.co/YUUCPhZ4oJ

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 23, 2024

New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul — who was recently slammed for saying black kids in the Bronx don’t know what the word “computer” means — said that even though Trump was inviting “all his clowns” to come to his rally, New York “will never ever support Donald Trump for president.”

WOW — Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul says President Trump’s New York supporters are “clowns” pic.twitter.com/rX8kqQkxU3

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 23, 2024

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