Donald Trump turned New York City from blue to red — at least for a moment — on Sunday during his Madison Square Garden rally where he delivered familiar remarks in what could only be described as a second Republican National Convention.
“I’d like to begin by asking a very simple question, are you better off now than you were four years ago,” Trump said at the top of his speech, which took place more than two hours after he was slated to address the crowd.
The audience roared with applause upon hearing the start of Trump’s familiar address.
“I’m here today with a message of hope for all Americans,” the Republican presidential nominee said. “I will end inflation. I will stop the invasion of criminals coming into our country. And I will bring back the American dream, we need the American dream to come back home. Our country will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer and stronger than ever before.”
The former president spent Sunday in Manhattan, which he has almost no chance of winning. The island overwhelmingly backs his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, but a massive rally in his hometown drew thousands to the famed arena. Supporters packed the streets of Midtown for hours as red MAGA hats were spotted all over New York City. They hooted, yelled and waited for the chance to see Trump in what became a seven-hour rally.
At least 30 high-profile people close to Trump, or his campaign, spoke in front of approximately 19,000 people in the hours leading up to the former president’s speech.
Among the speakers were vice president nominee JD Vance, his presidential transition team Robert F. Kennedy Jr and Tulsi Gabbard, his children Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, billionaire Elon Musk, wrestler Hulk Hogan, and TV personality Dr. Phil, among more than a dozen others.
Hogan entered to his wrestling theme song as he waved an American flag and ripped his shirt, bringing the crowd to feet inside Madison Square Garden, a venue he headlined at Wrestlemania in 1985. During his address, Hogan spoke of the rally’s comparisons to a 1939 Nazi rally at the same arena.
“I don’t see no stinkin’ Nazis in here. I don’t see no stinkin’ domestic terrorists in here,” he said. “The only thing I see in here are a bunch of hard-working men and women that are real Americans, brother.”
Musk, who has spent tens of millions of dollars campaigning for the former president, said he is “not just MAGA, I’m Dark Gothic MAGA,” as he wore all black.
The Telsa founder noted the energy in the arena, which sent the crowd into a tizzy. He added that America would not only be great under Trump but reach heights never seen before as he promised to get the government “off people’s backs” and “out of their pocketbooks.”
“You guys are awesome, honestly,” Musk said as the crowd chanted his name. “This is the kind of positive energy America is all about.”
Even Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, gave a speech in a unexpected apperance — a tradition she snubbed at the official RNC over the summer.
“Our hometown, where architectual symbols of strength, courage and unity create a canvass for world’s undisputed capital of industry,” Melania said.
She then launched into a triade that painted a bleak picture of New York, depsite stats showing otherwise.
The massive rally brought out the who’s who of the Republican party in what was a “closing argument” before voters head to the polls. Nine days before voting ends, the former president chose to hold a rally in one of the most Democratic-voting cities in the US with remarks that mimicked previous rally speeches and rambled on in front of a crowd that had been lined up for hours before the doors opened at noon.
He asserted misinformation about migrants coming into the US and claimed prisoners and gangs were coming from Venezuela and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to take over cities, including Times Square.
“The United States is now an occupied country,” Trump said.
There is no evidence that prisoners from other countries are being “dumped” into the US. In Aurora, Colorado, police identified 10 members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and nine were arrested.
At several points in his speech, Trump talked about the US-Mexico border and the “invasion” from the south. He called for the death penalty for migrants who commit murder, blasted the Biden administration for the number of illegal crossings and pledged to undertake the largest deportation effort in the country’s history.
“We will not be invaded, occupied, conquered,” the Republican nominee said.
Trump repeated his lies about the Biden administration’s handling of Hurricane Helene, claiming the White House used FEMA funding to support migrants and not victims of the hurricane. Notably, he also claimed his campaign is leading in “every swing state” despite polls indicating Trump and Harris are essentially tied.
He also attacked his Democrat rival’s record, calling her a “very low IQ individual.”
“She destroyed San Francisco, she destroyed, along with Gavin Newscum, the governor, who is the worst. One of the worst governors in the country, they destroyed California,” Trump said. “And she is not going to get a chance to destroy our country any further. We’re going to get it back fast.”