Democrats warned by New Yorkers as Trump preps for NYC rally near AOC's district: 'We are awakening'
Democrats are "dropping the ball" with Black voters ahead of November as former President Trump prepares to rally thousands of supporters just blocks away from AOC's deep-blue district, one New York resident argued.
Lou Valentino accused Democrats of "gaslighting" Black voters on issues like crime and the economy during "Fox & Friends," as Biden's approval among the critical voting bloc continues to slide.
"I think the Democrats have been dropping the ball," Valentino told Lawrence Jones on Monday. "You see crime, you see a woman being dragged, with a belt. You see all types of stuff happening in the Bronx, and they're just gaslighting it, acting like it's not happening. So I just think it's the perfect opportunity for people to speak up."
"A lot of bad things are happening. A lot of people can't afford groceries," he continued. "And Trump is speaking to those people in those barbershops or people that just can't afford this lifestyle that they had probably four to five years ago. So this is just a, I think… once in a lifetime opportunity."
Trump’s campaign announced that Thursday’s rally will take place at 6 p.m. in Crotona Park, a 127-acre public park just blocks away from the boundary line of Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s district.
The campaign has a permit to fit 3,500 people into the space, The New York Post reported, as he sets his sights on flipping the Empire State red this November, a situation that would have been unfathomable in 2021 when he departed the White House.
"I think this is an opportunity Republicans should not let go," Valentino said. "Throughout the years, I've never heard of a Republican going to the Bronx, so seeing Trump make the effort with everything going on, what is the excuses for Republicans and conservatives?"
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"Democrats feel they have to do no work to get the Black vote or the Hispanic vote, which, I think that's going to change this year," he said.
Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr., a lifelong Democrat, warned voters in his community are growing frustrated daily with the Democratic Party, and many have been "awakening" to the troubling politics many voters have supported for years.
"Our community is getting frustrated day by day with President Biden and the Democrats," Diaz told Steve Doocy on Monday. "They have been using us for too long, but this time it's too much… the open border… the groceries you can't even purchase. It's gas. Everything. Crime. Abuse against the police officers. Tying up the hands of judges."
"We [are] tired and more, day by day, more and more Hispanic and Black minority [voters]… We are switching. We are changing. We are awakening," he continued.
The upcoming rally will mark Trump’s first rally in the state since an upstate Buffalo event in 2016. Biden topped Trump with 76% of the city's vote in the 2020 election. Statewide, Biden took 60.87% of the vote.
Meanwhile, a new Fox News poll indicates Biden has lost 7% support in the Black community since October 2020, while Trump has garnered an additional 9% support among Black voters in the same time frame.
"We are so mentally conditioned to vote for a Democrat that no matter who is running in the Democratic line, our people go for them, but now, now it's different," Diaz said. "Now people are learning. People are awakening."
Fox News' Micahel Dorgan contributed to this report.