Trump moves to flip the script on New York trial

NEW YORK — Donald Trump is putting New York City on trial.

In his first campaign event since jury selection got underway in the highly anticipated case against him, the former president eviscerated as crime-ridden the city where his fate will be decided.

Trump visited a Harlem bodega following his second day in court in a criminal hush money case. The store was the site of a 2022 fatal stabbing, which the perpetrator described as self defense against an unprovoked attack in a case that inflamed conservatives.

The appearance signaled an effort by Trump to go on the offensive after two days besieged in court, while kneecapping Alvin Bragg, the Democratic prosecutor trying his case. Unfolding on the sidelines of the trial, the brief remarks served as the opening of the weeks-long, courtroom-constricted phase of Trump’s campaign — a relentless critique of Democrats’ handling of crime to counter public focus on his own criminal cases.

“It’s Alvin Bragg’s fault. Alvin Bragg does nothing; he goes after guys like Trump who did nothing wrong,” Trump told reporters gathered outside the store. “There are hundreds of murderers all over the city. They know who they are, and they don’t pick them up. They go after Trump.”

He used the opportunity to similarly go after the influx of migrants into New York City, seeking to pit them against Black and Latino residents and going so far as to predict he would win New York — an unlikely outcome, as no Republican presidential candidate has carried the state in 30 years.

Anticipating the attack on his record, Bragg’s office tweeted NYPD statistics showing a 39 percent drop in shootings and a 23 percent drop in murders over the past year in Manhattan.

Trump, flanked by Bodega and Small Business Group member Carlos Collado and the bodega’s owner, Maad Ahmed, called his trial “rigged” and said of the judge overseeing his case, “There’s never been a judge so conflicted as this.”

The presumptive GOP presidential nominee spent much of Tuesday in court, before the trip to the bodega where clerk Jose Alba fatally stabbed a customer who was attacking him in a case that captured the attention of Republicans nationally. Alba was initially charged with murder, but Bragg later dropped the charges.

“This matter was resolved nearly two years ago, and the charges were dismissed after a thorough investigation,” Bragg spokesperson Doug Cohen said. “DA Bragg’s top priority remains combating violent crime and the office has worked hand in hand with the NYPD to drive down overall crime in Manhattan, including double digit decreases in homicides and shootings since he took office.”

Trump’s visit put him on Bragg’s turf — the neighborhood that raised the top prosecutor, after two days in a courtroom where he is being tried on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

Trump’s campaign permitted several dozen supporters to pack into a space near the bodega, where they cheered him loudly, chanted, “Four more years!” and sang, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” He greeted them warmly before heading into the store for a few minutes.

Beyond the police barricades, hundreds of New Yorkers crowded to watch the spectacle. And while some appeared to support Trump, others booed him. Just after his motorcade took off, a group arrived with a sense of humor and a banner advertising, “Trump dildos on sale now.”

The incident highlighted the complications of running for president while on trial.

The drama unfolding in the Manhattan courtroom and the trial’s demands on the former president’s schedule are not welcome by the candidate or his campaign, which has sought repeatedly to delay the trial. But Trump has decided to make the most of it, using it to underscore his claims that the justice system is unfairly rigged against him and that he is the victim of political persecution.

Trump's campaign has also worked closely with his allies to make sure they are blanketing the airwaves with talking points that tie the trial to President Joe Biden. Surrogates have been asked to call this the "Biden trials," a phrase the former president has used himself as he railed against the proceedings on Truth Social.

On the social media site on Tuesday, Trump wrote, “MY TRIAL IS AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA!”

Democrats, readily on the defensive over crime and border security, have sought to play up their electoral advantage on abortion — tying Republicans and Trump, specifically, to what have proven to be unpopular restrictions since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Trump’s appearance Tuesday also served as a preview of the way he is likely to campaign for the duration of the proceedings. On Trump's days off from the trial — Wednesday, when the judge attends to other business, and the weekends — he plans to attend fundraisers and continue campaigning. This weekend he will attend a fundraiser and rally in North Carolina. And like he did on Tuesday, he is expected to have unannounced stops in the New York area to talk about immigration and crime.

On Tuesday, he told reporters he will do rallies “all over the place” during the trial.

Despite Trump’s claims of increased crime in New York City, NYPD statistics show overall crime fell 1 percentage point from 2022 to 2023. However, recent high-profile incidents of violence have garnered attention, including a brawl between migrants and police officers in Times Square and the fatal shooting of Jonathan Diller, a New York City police officer shot on duty. Trump attended his wake in late March.

In mid-March, New York Governor Kathy Hochul deployed National Guard and state police troopers to the city’s subway system amid a string of crimes that received national attention and added to the perception of disorder on public trains.

Meanwhile Biden is taking his campaign to the swing state of Pennsylvania this week with stops in Pittsburgh, Scranton and Philadelphia. And while the Democratic president told reporters in the Oval Office he is not paying attention to Trump’s trial — and his campaign has yet to officially weigh in — his team sent a statement Monday with not-so-veiled references to the courtroom drama in New York.

A campaign press release referenced “Stormy” abortion coverage, and claims the Trump campaign is “fast asleep,” a nod to both the porn actor Trump is accused of paying and reports that Trump dozed off at one point during jury selection.

One Manhattan Congress member lashed out at Trump’s visit Tuesday night.

“Donald Trump didn't do his homework,” Rep. Adriano Expaillat wrote on X. “My district is progressive and my constituents are honest hard working New Yorkers who don't have time for Trump's division, hate, and chaos. Trump has no place in my district.”

CORRECTION: This report has been corrected to reflect Bragg's role in Alba's case.