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

Former President Donald Trump is holding his first-ever rally in Philadelphia on Saturday at Temple University.

The Republican presidential candidate is expected to speak at the Liacouras Center on Temple’s campus in North Philadelphia at 7 p.m. Doors will open at 3 p.m. And protesters are expected.

Temple University’s footprint, and voting precincts within a half-mile radius, showed astonishingly low support for Trump in both 2016 and 2020, so it seems odd for him to pay it a visit. Philadelphia’s electorate as a whole is overwhelmingly blue. But polls show Trump and President Joe Biden fighting head-to-head in Pennsylvania, and both candidates are expected to visit Pennsylvania frequently between now and November.

Pennsylvania is a critical swing state where every single vote counts. Trump won the state in 2016 by a little less than 1 percentage point and then lost to Biden in 2020 by a little more than 1 percentage point.

Biden will rely on maintaining or growing support in Philadelphia and its suburbs, due to the region’s high concentration of Democratic voters compared to the rest of the state. And even a slight uptick in support for Trump in the Philadelphia area could help him tip the scales in his favor.

» READ MORE: Trump is still lying about winning Pa. in 2020. He’s still wrong.

Trump’s campaign is also seeking to capitalize on polling that shows his support among young and non-white voters may have strengthened — or at least that Biden’s support among those groups has weakened. The population within a half-mile radius of Temple’s campus is 73% non-white, which is higher than the citywide non-white population of 66%, according to 2020 census data.

Trump and Biden have both made recent efforts to connect with Black voters in Philadelphia. While Biden is still favored to win a large majority of the vote in Philadelphia and among the city’s Black voters, even a slight uptick in support for Trump could make a difference in the tight statewide race. Trump and his surrogates have attempted to make inroads in Philadelphia this year, with Trump’s February visit to Sneaker Con and a “cigars and cognac” event this month hosted by U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds (R., Fla.) and Wesley Hunt (R., Texas). The cigar event drew national attention and backlash due to Donalds’ remarks about Black voters.

“President Trump is making inroads with historically Democrat voters, including Black Americans and Hispanics, because he is unafraid to bring his message to deep-blue areas as evidenced by this trip to Philadelphia and recent visits to Detroit, Harlem, and the Bronx,” Trump campaign spokesperson Janiyah Thomas said in a statement.

» READ MORE: A billionaire-backed conservative Latino outreach push comes to Pa. days after Democrats launched their own

Saturday’s rally will likely also attract Republicans from outside of Philadelphia. While the Temple rally may draw a different crowd than Trump rallies in more rural parts of the state, his supporters are known to travel to see him, and he is ultimately trying to reach all Pennsylvania voters.

One of those traveling supporters will be Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick, who lives in Pittsburgh and also spends time in Connecticut. McCormick said that he will “talk about the leadership needed to get our country back on track” in a post on X. The event will be McCormick’s first time at a Trump rally, his campaign confirmed. Trump endorsed McCormick at an April rally in Lehigh County.

Philly politicians, unsurprisingly, have made clear Trump won’t receive a warm welcome in the overwhelmingly Democratic city.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, a Democrat and a staunch supporter of Biden, said this week that she believes Philadelphians are focused on “preserving our democracy” and that Trump’s visit to the city is a diversion from the agenda she’s working to implement.

“We’re focused on getting things done here in our city and, to me, any attention in that direction is a distraction,” she said. “And I’m not interested in Philadelphians focusing on distractions.”

Councilmember Jeffery Young Jr., whose district includes Temple’s campus, said he plans to show the city that Biden is the best choice for president and will join protesters Saturday.

“The 5th district is a diverse place where we welcome all perspectives,” he said in an email. “However I and other Philadelphians will be sure to take to the streets to show our disdain for his policies and politics.”

The Temple University Democrats said in an emailed statement that the group is frustrated “to have the former president and his fascistic followers enter our community,” and pointed to Trump’s recent felony conviction.

“Although many Temple students go home for the summer, we want him to know that he is never welcome here,” members of the group said. " ... And come November, we will show up again at the polls to ensure he will never be welcomed into the White House again. We young people are the future, and we have a lot to say. We will not be silenced.”

He will be embraced, however, by the Temple College Republicans, who endorsed him for president.

“The Temple College Republicans are excited and thankful to have Donald Trump come to the campus for his Rally on Saturday,” chair Billy Walker said in an email. “We thank the University for its commitment to allowing an environment of diverse thought and opinion. We look forward to seeing President Trump and pray for a peaceful rally.”

» READ MORE: Why some young voters in deep blue Philadelphia are backing the former president.

The university said that letting Trump’s campaign rent out event space does not equate to an endorsement, as with any other speaker. The venue is managed and operated by a third-party firm, according to the university, and Temple is not incurring costs for the event.

Former President Barack Obama and Biden campaigned for Democrats at the Liacouras Center in 2022.

Trump has made various stops in Philadelphia over the years, like when he spoke at the Union League during his 2016 campaign. He also held a rally in Delco that year. But he’s never rallied in Philadelphia, which more often hosts large events for his Democratic rivals.

Trump did, however, stop by Philadelphia’s Sneaker Con earlier this year to launch his own sneaker, and a Bucks County fan paid $9,000 for them.

» READ MORE: Meet the Bucks County ‘degenerate collector’ who paid $9,000 for Trump sneakers — and says they’re worth more

Trump also visited the Philadelphia region twice during his recent criminal trial for falsifying business records in relation to hush money payments. He was convicted on all 34 felony counts.

During the weekend before jury selection in April, he held a fundraiser in Bucks County, where he was greeted by hundreds of supporters, before heading to a Lehigh Valley rally.

During his trial last month, he held a rally in Wildwood.

Trump’s campaign opened its first office in the city, in the Holmesburg section of Northeast Philly, earlier this month as part of its “Black Americans for Trump” effort. That push drew backlash, after an additional event hosted by his allies just hours after the office opening dominated the news cycle over a comment Donalds, a Black congressman, made about the Jim Crow era. Democrats also criticized the events for not having any Black Philadelphians as speakers.

That event came shortly after Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris visited Philadelphia to connect with Black voters.

Staff writer Anna Orso and graphics editor John Duchneskie contributed to this article.