Trump rallies in North Philly as he tries to win over voters in Pennsylvania’s bluest big city

Former President Donald Trump stood in the heart of North Philadelphia Saturday and portrayed it as a “wild time” in the city, saying violent crime has surged and vowing to send federal law enforcement if he’s elected.

In an 85-minute speech that included multiple appeals to Hispanic and Black voters, he slammed his rivals as “despicable,” proposed a fighting league for migrants, falsely claimed he’d won the city of Philadelphia in past elections, and described President Joe Biden’s tenure in dark terms.

“Biden’s wave of bedlam and death and terror will begin to recede the moment I take the oath of office,” Trump said. “There are certain places, like places that I know very well here, that are just absolutely out of control.”

Trump’s rally at Temple University’s Liacouras Center was the first time the former president has held one of his signature events in Philadelphia, a city of 1.6 million people wherein registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 7-to-1 margin. Four years ago, the former president received only 5% of the vote in precincts within a half-mile radius of Temple’s campus.

The event put in stark relief the effort the Republican nominee is making to win over voters — especially people of color — in traditionally Democratic strongholds. He recently rallied in Las Vegas and the South Bronx, N.Y. At the rally Saturday, the Trump campaign’s second in Philly this month, signs read: “Philadelphia is Trump country.”

“I was like, Philly? Is he sure?” said Tom Mathena, 47, a Trump supporter and construction worker from Wilmington. “It was a bold move.”

Biden is still expected to win Philadelphia handily. But even a small shift in votes could hand Trump Pennsylvania, a key battleground where he and Biden are polling neck-and-neck and a state that could tilt the Electoral College.

“We win Pennsylvania,” Trump said, “we win the presidency.”

Trump has something of a complicated relationship with Philadelphia, where officials four years ago released a tally of votes that effectively clinched the White House for President Joe Biden.

Some Philadelphians remain miffed that Trump canceled the Eagles’ visit to the White House after the 2018 Super Bowl, and others recall that he famously said during a debate: “Bad things happen in Philadelphia.” And his campaign’s off-the-rails news conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping in 2020 is an enduring punchline.

» READ MORE: Why Donald Trump is coming to North Philadelphia for his first-ever rally in the city

None of that was evident among his supporters, who lined up along Tony & Nick’s in South Philly Saturday, waving flags as Trump stopped for a cheesesteak on the way to his rally.

Miles north, thousands more poured into the arena after waiting outside in temperatures that threatened to hit 100 degrees. They wore red T-shirts that said “no more bullsh—” and held signs with the former president’s mug shot reading “never surrender.”

“It’s President Trump who says ‘I’m going to open up opportunities for everybody, not just one, but for everybody,’” said James Earl Jones, a Black Philadelphia business owner who spoke during the rally. “And that’s what we need.”

And Bonnie Harmon, a Trump supporter who lives in Philadelphia and wore a “Blacks for Trump 2020″ shirt, said people who are hung up on comments Trump made in the past should move on.

”What is in his heart right now, in real time, that’s what we have to look at,” she said.

The Liacouras Center, which can hold about 10,000 people, did not open the upper level to attendees — only the lower bowl and floor were full. The crowd was a majority white, but a higher concentration of Black supporters were seated in the section behind where Trump stood, making those supporters visible on the televised live stream.

In response to Trump’s remarks Saturday, Biden’s campaign seized on the size and makeup of the crowd.

“Trump is a diminished man, obsessed with his 2020 defeat in Philly, and he’s determined to exact revenge on our city for rejecting him,” senior adviser Kellan White said. “But no amount of ranting can get him more support here – just look at how many empty seats there were in the arena.”

The rally came just days before the first presidential debate of the campaign on Thursday. And it was Trump’s first major event in Pennsylvania since he was found guilty last month of 34 counts of falsifying business records, becoming the first ex-president and major party presidential nominee to be convicted of a felony.

Trump called the trial in New York City a “sham,” and people who attended the rally said they were unfazed by the result.

“That was just a way to try and take away from his character,” said Carla Richardson, 31, a mental health professional from Southwest Philadelphia.

Much of Trump’s speech focused on issues he’s emphasized on the campaign trail, namely immigration. He described recent crimes allegedly committed by migrants in graphic detail, and he vowed to begin the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”

He later proposed an Ultimate Fighting Championship-style fight between migrants, saying “these are tough cookies coming into our country.”

Matthew Contreras, a Trump supporter from New York, said immigration is a key reason he supports the former president.

“Illegal immigrants are a problem for us citizens, we need to secure the border and support legal immigration,” he said. He added: “[Trump] offers Latinos the chance to be whoever they want.”

Trump also blasted his rivals. He repeatedly called into question Biden’s mental fitness, he described U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) as “a stiff,” and he slammed progressive District Attorney Larry Krasner as “a despicable Marxist.”

“Krasner has the blood of countless men, women, and children on his hands,” Trump said, “including thousands of African American citizens, because he refuses to prosecute people.”

In response, Krasner said, as if speaking to Trump: “When did you start caring about Black and brown lives?”

“He should come and have a robust debate with me on this topic,” Krasner added, “instead of his usual cowardly drive-by where he hollers words he doesn’t even understand.”

Trump’s supporters said they were unbothered by the nominee’s broadsides.

“Everybody knows he’s not polished,” said Kristopher Liu, a Philly native who lives in Texas. “That’s how he is. That’s how he talks. But look what he’s done for the country.”

Debbie Segrest, of Cherry Hill, was buzzing as she left the Liacouras Center clad in red, white, and blue. She rarely misses a local Trump rally.

”He never disappoints,” Segrest said. But while she was enamored with Trump’s remarks, Segrest said his choice to hold an event in Philadelphia brought a different energy than a recent rally in Wildwood, N.J.

”It wasn’t as big,” she said. “In Wildwood, it was down the streets. Flags, everything.”

Outside the arena, where dozens of Biden supporters taunted the crowd with chants of “lock him up,” tensions didn’t escalate much, save for a few choice words and some flying fingers. Philadelphia police officers used metal barricades to separate crowds of protesters from Trump supporters.

Phillip Jefferson, a Philadelphia native and a city employee, said the former president is “desperate.”

”He knows Philadelphia is the key to Pennsylvania,” Jefferson said. He added that the former president is clearly trying to court Black voters like him, but that prospect has left him perplexed. “From what I’ve seen, none of his agenda is favorable for people of color.”

Cosmo Gamble, another protester, added: “This is a Democratic city. He does not belong here.”

Staff writers Rob Tornoe, Aseem Shukla, Michelle Myers, and Hannah Nguyen contributed to this article.