Trump vows to become first Republican in decades to flip New Jersey

New York, New York - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump recently promised that he would be able to flip New Jersey in the 2024 elections, though the state has been blue for decades.

In a recent interview, presidential candidate Donald Trump vowed to win New Jersey in 2024, though the state has voted Democratic for over three decades.
In a recent interview, presidential candidate Donald Trump vowed to win New Jersey in 2024, though the state has voted Democratic for over three decades.  © Collage: IMAGO / Pond5 Images & USA TODAY Network

On Friday morning, prior to heading to the New York County Criminal Court building in Manhattan to close out the week of his hush money trial, Trump did a radio interview with New Jersey 101.5 in which he proclaimed that though the state has been consistently blue for three decades, "I think it's going to flip to Republican."

"We're going to try and win the state of New Jersey. I want the people to know that I love it," he vowed.

"It's not just going to be like, gee, maybe we can get close. We're going to win it."

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Trump's promise is a pretty tall order, as a Republican presidential candidate hasn't won the state since George H.W. Bush in 1988. Democrats have since won the state in the past eight presidential elections.

Later that day, Trump shared a video to his Truth Social platform pumping up his MAGA supporters ahead of his planned rally in the Garden State.

He slammed his Democratic challenger President Joe Biden and promised New Jersey voters he would deliver "a middle class tax cut, the likes of which you haven't seen" if he is re-elected.

"We're going to work very hard, put in tremendous effort," he said. "We want to win the state of New Jersey, and take it away from these radical, left Democrats that are destroying our country."

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Boardwalk shops on Wildwood Beach sell MAGA gear a day before Donald Trump's planned rally in New Jersey.
Boardwalk shops on Wildwood Beach sell MAGA gear a day before Donald Trump's planned rally in New Jersey.  © IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

On Saturday, Trump will be holding his rally at Wildwood Beach on the Jersey shore, which is located in the heavily Republican county of Cape May.

Ahead of the event, videos have been shared on social media of MAGA supporters lined up as early as Friday for the rally, even though it is not scheduled to begin until 5 PM Saturday.

Trump has similarly held rallies in Wildwood while campaigning in previous elections, but to no avail.

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In 2016, he lost New Jersey to Hillary Clinton by 12 points, and in 2020, he lost it to Biden by 14.

The rally is also a short distance from New York City, where he is required to attend every scheduled day of his hush money trial. He is facing 34 felony charges for allegedly falsifying business records in an effort to hide payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels to cover up an affair he has long denied.

On Monday, Trump will have to return to New York for the trial, and his former attorney Michael Cohen is expected to take the stand.

Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / Pond5 Images & USA TODAY Network

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