Former President Trump made a brief visit to a NYC bodega where an employee had stabbed a robber to death in self-defense, but was initially charged with murder by the Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.
Trump praised the NYPD officers who greeted him warmly.
“You should be allowed to have a gun. If you had a gun, you’d never get robbed, you’d never get robbed, that would be the end of it,” Trump said.
Trump genuinely loves the NYPD
They’ve been with him from the start, all the way back in the 70’s when he was a young man, with big dreams, in a spiraling city
They’re still by his side as he’s being persecuted in the city he built
This is wholesome pic.twitter.com/TCEJdgFJkg
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) April 16, 2024
The bodega owner, who had never voted before, said electing a “strong guy” like Trump was important for safety and that he would vote for Trump to return to the White House.
Sanaa Convenient Store owner Maad Ahmed noted that criminals “would respect the store” if they knew he was armed. His attorney warned, however, “If you use a gun and you’re defending yourself lawfully, you will go to jail.”
“I have never voted, because I’ve been working, but this time I will. We need Donald Trump back in the White House because he’s a strong guy,” Ahmed said.
“What happened to Jose was very hard for me. Jose was defending himself from the guy who came behind the counter. All for $1 worth of chips,” he said.
Trump told bodega workers they should be allowed to have guns to defend themselves.
He criticized progressive DAs for targeting those defending themselves while not going after violent criminals.
“Every week they’re being robbed two or three times, it’s crazy. You know what? The police can stop it but they have to be allowed to do their job,” Trump said.
“You have to stop crime and we’re going to let the police do their job. They have to be given back their authority. We’re making a big play for New York. I love this city and it’s gotten so bad in the last three years, four years, and we’re going to straighten New York out.”
Trump kept focus on Bragg, saying he goes after Trump but not hundreds of murderers in the city.
“Alvin Bragg does nothing, he goes after guys like Trump who did nothing wrong. Violent killers and murderers … There are hundreds of murderers all over the city, they [authorities] know who they are, and they don’t pick them up. They go after Trump,” he said.
