Donald Trump has held a campaign rally in New York’s South Bronx neighbourhood as he seeks to win over black and Latino voters ahead of November’s presidential election.
Among those he shared the stage with on Thursday was Florida Republican Byron Donalds, a black congressman and rumoured potential running mate.
It was Mr Trump’s first rally in New York in roughly eight years as the presumptive Republican presidential candidate tries to make inroads with ethnic minority voters.
A recent New York Times and Sienna poll suggests Democrat Joe Biden is losing support among that crucial voting bloc in key states.
The Bronx is a mainly Hispanic and black neighborhood and a Democratic stronghold.
Mr Trump spent a lot of time speaking directly to the New York audience about his thumbprint on the city – the place where he built much of his fortune and fame.
“We inspired the entire world,” he said early in his roughly 90 minute speech, but now he sees the city spiraling into “decline”, describing it as a place riddled with crime and a crumbling infrastructure.
He blamed Mr Biden and the record levels of migrants crossing the US-Mexico border for having an economic impact on minority voters.
“The biggest negative impact [of illegal immigration] is against our black population and our Hispanic population, who are losing their jobs, losing their housing, losing everything they can lose”, Mr Trump told the crowd.
Before Mr Trump’s arrival, there was concern about how he would be received in the Bronx.
“I wish he would just disappear,” one man told the New York Times ahead of the rally.
“Nobody I know supports him.”
Police presence was heavy at Crotona Park as counter-protesters gathered outside the rally.
They were eventually removed by New York police, according to the BBC’s US media partner CBS.
But people who spoke to the BBC said they appreciate Mr Trump’s willingness to step out of his comfort zone.
“It’s a bold move right here, him coming to the Bronx,” Geoffrey Davis said. “What he’s done here is very respectful.”
Mr Davis said he supports Mr Trump because “when he was president, there were no wars. No Ukraine-Russia. No Israel-Gaza”.
Thamar Corniel, a Trump supporter who was born in the Dominican Republic, said: “He’s America first.”
