Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused former President Donald Trump of being “broke” and needing money as a reason why he is hosting a rally Thursday in the South Bronx.
“Oh, he’s broke, Donald Trump is broke. He needs money. He’s hosting a rally to try to con people and try to fleece them out of every dollar that they have to fund his own legal fees,” the New York Democrat and prominent Squad member, told reporters Tuesday.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is also holding his rally in the South Bronx because of the Manhattan criminal trial, where he has been sitting in court for over a month after pleading not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records.
“The man practically has the legal version of an ankle bracelet around him. And he can’t leave the five boroughs because he always has to be in court,” the left-wing firebrand said. “It is truly an embarrassment to him. I am looking forward to the response of everyday Bronxites, talking about how they feel about him coming to their backyard.”
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said she would not be surprised if the former president bused in “a lot of his pals from Long Island and Jersey, and wherever” and hopes they all “pay a nice hefty congestion tax” to boost the revenues of the New York City public school system and Bronx tourism.
The Bronx is the most demographically diverse area of the country and the poorest in the city. Although Ms. Ocasio-Cortez does represent part of the Bronx, the actual rally site is not in her district, but in that of Rep. Ritchie Torres, also a Democrat.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung derided Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and made reference to a notorious squabble she had last week with Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, Georgia Republican.
“You’d think Sandy would have learned her lesson after getting wrecked at the House Oversight Committee hearing, but she never says anything remotely intelligent,” he said.
The Trump campaign announced that the former president would hold the rally “to highlight the horrendous effects Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous presidency has had on our economy.”
Mr. Trump intends to highlight issue ranging from inflation on everyday goods and services to skyrocketing crime and “the endless flow of illegal immigrants across our southern border.”
“New Yorkers have spent $7,747 more on transportation, $3,542 more on energy, $3,637 more on food, and $3,921 more on shelter on average since January 2021 due to Bidenflation,” the Trump campaign said.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.