MSNBC Analyst Claims Trump’s Bronx Rally Was a ‘Signal’ to White People in Swing States That He’s Not Racist: ‘Soften the Ground’

MSNBC political analyst Charles Blow claimed Donald Trump’s Bronx rally on Thursday had “nothing” to do with the Bronx, but was actually a “signal” to white voters in swing states.

Blow joined Joy Reid on Thursday night to react to Trump’s unusual campaign stop. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and others blasted Trump’s campaign event before it even happened, noting the Bronx overwhelmingly votes Democratic.

“What would be the point of Donald Trump going to the Bronx and bringing up [Vladimir] Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong Un in a place he can never win? The Bronx is full of Black and Latino folks, and he’s not fond of those,” Reid asked Blow.

Blow argued the campaign stop was to push back against perceptions in other states that Trump is racist.

“He’s not going to win New York, he’s not going to win the Bronx, but that audience is not the Bronx,” Blow said. “The audience is everyone else in states that he could possibly win and what he tries to do — and there’s no downside for him to do this, by the way — what he’s trying to do is signal to other people, signal to people in swing states who are white and who don’t want to be thought of as voting for a racist.”

Speaking in a minority-heavy district that he has no chance of winning, Blow added, could convince some people to declare, “Maybe he’s not as racist as they say.”

“This has nothing to do with New York,” he said. “This has nothing to do with the Bronx.”

Watch above via MSNBC.