Donald Trump made a pitch to Black and Latino voters on Thursday by holding a rally in the South Bronx.
The former US president addressed supporters in Crotona Park, days before a Manhattan jury begins deliberations on whether to convict him of felony charges in his criminal hush money trial.
The area, a Democrat stronghold, is among the city's most diverse and Mr Trump cast himself as a better president for black and Hispanic voters than Joe Biden as he railed against his rival's immigration policies.
He insisted “the biggest negative impact" of the influx of migrants in New York is "against our black population and our Hispanic population who are losing their jobs, losing their housing, losing everything they can lose.”
He opened his rally with an ode to his hometown, talking about its humble beginnings as a small Dutch trading post before becoming a glamorous capital of culture that "inspired the entire world".
The Bronx Democratic Party protested Mr Trump's appearance with members of multiple unions holding signs that said "The Bronx says no to Trump" in English and Spanish.
"We are used to elected officials, government officials, and opportunists of all kinds who come to our community and use our painful history," said Democratic State Representative Amanda Septimo, who represents the South Bronx.
"They talk about the Bronx and everything that's wrong with it, but they never get to the part that talks about what they're going to do for the Bronx, and we know that Trump is never going to get to that part in his speech."
Trump's campaign believes he can chip away at Mr Biden's support among black and Hispanic voters, but Biden’s campaign hit back with two videos released on Thursday highlighting Trump’s support for the “birther” conspiracy theory against Barack Obama.
The video also highlighted Trump’s calls for the death penalty for five men wrongly convicted of rape in the 1989 Central Park Five case.
The rally comes during a pause in Mr Trump's criminal hush money trial which will resume following the Memorial Day weekend with closing arguments.
The jury will then decide whether Mr Trump will become the first former president in the US’ history to be criminally convicted and whether he will be the first major party presidential candidate to run as a convict.
