Jerry Evans, a registered Democrat in New York City, had never attended a political rally before Thursday.
But speaking with Newsweek at Donald Trump's campaign event in the South Bronx, Evans said that he turned out to show support for the former president because he feels "very strongly about how the border's going." He also accused President Joe Biden of giving the "red carpet treatment" to migrants.
"You know, I said, why is Biden giving them the red carpet treatment?" Evans said. "He's giving them everything—giving them housing, giving them shelter, giving them money, cash—and people who live here can't get that."
Immigration is a top issue among voters nationwide heading into November's election, and preliminary polling has shown that many Americans do not approve of the way Biden has handled what some politicians have described as a "crisis" along the U.S. border with Mexico.
A survey conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies in April found that only 20 percent of voters believe the country has "control over its borders." In a separate poll by AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that same month, 56 percent of respondents said that they believe Biden has hurt "immigration and border security."
"He opened up the border and then he just said, 'everybody get in,'" Evans told Newsweek. "And then you go to New York and it's like, dumping ground, USA."
Nearly 200,000 migrants have entered New York City over the past two years, and Democratic Mayor Eric Adams has described the situation as a "humanitarian issue." The city has also seen the largest number of migrant deportation orders in fiscal year 2024, according to the Transaction Records Access Clearinghouse. Over 70 percent of New York City residents surveyed by Redfield & Wilton earlier this week said that they blame the influx of migrants on the city's crime rate.
Trump has attempted to capitalize on the concerns around immigration ahead of November, including promising to deport "millions" of undocumented immigrants. The former president has also claimed that migrants entering through the U.S. southern border are often former criminals and are causing crime rates to soar across the nation. Research has shown that a surge in immigration does not necessarily lead to a rise in crime.
The former president's rally on Thursday comes toward the tail end of his hush money trial in Manhattan. Trump lost the state of New York in both 2016 and 2020, but gained a significant amount of New York City voters in his second race. One of his biggest jumps was in Bronx County, where Trump earned roughly 30,000 more votes in 2020 than in 2016.
Evans said Thursday that he has "four to five" family members who, like him, are planning on supporting Trump in November, despite previously voting for Biden. When asked if he would support Democrats in other federal races, such as for Senate or the House, Evans said, "I would, but there's nobody out there right now that's worth f****** voting for."
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About the writer
Kaitlin Lewis is a Newsweek reporter on the Night Team based in Boston, Massachusetts. Her focus is reporting on national ... Read more
