With battleground states up for grabs, Trump oddly returns to NYC for Madison Square Garden rally

With the statesmanlike run entering its last stretch, Donald Trump is making an unusual choice. He’s turning his absorption to New York City — wherever helium volition rally supporters connected Sunday at Madison Square Garden. 

His deep-blue hometown is simply a funny spot to location successful connected successful the past days of the election arsenic the GOP nominee has the slimmest chances of winning New York.

But strategists connected some sides agreed the rally provides an opportunity for Trump to bash what helium loves most: Put connected a spectacle. And wherever amended than the nation’s signature arena?

In fact, New York City whitethorn adjacent marque cleanable consciousness arsenic a backdrop for Trump’s showmanship. The metropolis is astatine the halfway of respective signature issues of the erstwhile president’s 2024 campaign.

The astir evident is immigration, arsenic the metropolis has struggled with the strain and costs of a monolithic influx of migrants implicit the past 2 years. Trump has often claimd the situation was created by the Biden/Harris medication and has wounded each manor of Americans.

Trump loves to obstruction astir the “rigged” U.S. Justice Department and however he’s been victimized with 1 prosecution aft another. New York is wherever Trump was convicted successful the hush wealth prosecution implicit payouts made to porn prima Stormy Daniels.

He besides has made a wont of talking astir however crime-ridden and lawless the streets of New York are, contempt crimes being overmuch lower than successful the 1980s and ’90s, erstwhile Trump was gathering his real-estate empire successful the city.

“To travel successful present similar a conquering hero, having withstood each the slings and arrows implicit the past year, and to basal close there, successful Madison Square Garden, successful beforehand of tens of thousands of people, and to say, ‘Here I americium connected the verge of being victorious. I’m gonna beryllium President of the United States again,’ is thing that everybody successful the state is going to beryllium watching,” said Robert Hornak, a Republican governmental strategist.

The erstwhile president is reportedly slated to talk connected Sunday astir however Vice President Harris and President Biden failed voters connected the economy, migration and different issues.

AP

Trump has promised a blockbuster lawsuit that volition play up his prima power. (AP)

A spectacle

Trump has promised a blockbuster lawsuit that volition play up his prima powerfulness successful the final agelong of the election. The antithetic prime for a rally is intended to enactment connected a amusement for swing authorities voters looking connected from afar, experts said.

“Part of it is the spectacle, the showmanship, him trying to item the concern success,” said Democratic strategist Trip Yang. “Part of it conscionable seems to beryllium connected a property level, connected an ego level, helium truly likes the full MSG spectacle. If you enactment successful amusement business, and you tin accidental you sold retired MSG, that’s a immense feather successful your cap.”

It’s a mode to get attraction — positive immoderate run cash, with Trump hawking an “Ultra-MAGA experience” that runs attendees $924,0000 for top-tier entree astatine the rally. 

Mike Morey, a Democratic advisor said that generating a “circus” astatine the venue, which has a capableness of astir 20,000, is precisely the point: “This volition beryllium a circus, but that’s his intention, due to the fact that Donald Trump has ne'er attempted to really speech astir argumentation oregon issues.”

Trump antecedently hosted a rally successful Long Island successful September, and a May rally successful the Bronx drew hundreds of some supporters and protesters.

“We’re wrapping it up,” Trump said of the run astatine a Greensboro, N.C. rally connected Tuesday, adding that helium wanted to adjacent retired “with a beauteous bang” astatine the Garden.

Getty

Donald Trump supporters be his rally successful the Bronx earlier this year. The erstwhile President said recently, “We’re going to marque a play for New York.” (Getty)

‘We’re gonna marque a play for New York’

At rallies, Trump has repeatedly claimed that helium has a accidental astatine winning the Empire State.

That’s highly unlikely: The authorities hasn’t voted Republican successful a statesmanlike predetermination since 1984, erstwhile New York voted Ronald Reagan for re-election, and Harris has a 16-point pb implicit Trump successful New York, according to the latest New York Times/Siena College poll.

But Trump, successful New York and elsewhere successful the country, has been cheered connected by supporters portion coating an apocalyptic representation of New York City, calling it typical of the failings of wide rule.

He’s regularly lobbed attacks Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for his hush wealth lawsuit against Trump, which kept the erstwhile president mostly confined to the metropolis for overmuch of this past spring. Trump, who was convicted by a Manhattan assemblage of 34 felonies, has claimed Bragg and different prosecutors person led a politically-motivated “witch hunt” against him. He has besides utilized concerns astir transgression arsenic a bludgeon against Bragg and different prosecutors and lawmakers.

Moreover, Trump has stirred fearfulness with rhetoric astir the influx of migrants entering the state from the confederate border. He has campaigned connected unsubstantiated claims of a “migrant transgression wave,” utilizing New York City, which saw implicit 200,000 migrant arrivals since Spring 2022, arsenic an illustration of what the dangers of unchecked migration could look like.

“We’re going to marque a play for New York,” Trump said astatine the North Carolina rally. “It hasn’t been won successful many, galore decades, but with what’s going connected successful New York, betwixt the amerciable migrants and the transgression they’re causing and hurting radical truthful badly, and each of the problems successful New York, we’re going to springiness it a hellhole of a shot.”

“He knows afloat good that helium has zero accidental of winning successful New York, but what helium wants to bash is enactment connected a spectacle for the remainder of the country,” Morey said. 

While Trump faces fundamentally nary accidental of winning the state, galore of the points he’s campaigned connected inactive person relevance to immoderate voters.

Republicans anticipation his beingness astatine Madison Square Garden mightiness lend immoderate momentum to House Republicans similar Mike Lawler and Marc Molinaro who are warring for re-election.

Hornak, the Republican strategist, said Trump and different Republicans person utilized the issues of immigration, nationalist information and outgo of surviving to create a foothold successful New York. 

During the 2022 midterm elections, Democrats mislaid 5 seats successful districts surrounding the metropolis and saw a choky contention betwixt Gov. Hochul and her Republican challenger, Lee Zeldin. 

“There’s decidedly a determination that’s been gathering successful New York, which has lone gotten worse implicit the past 2 years with this monolithic and ace costly influx of migrants coming into New York City,” Hornak said.

AP

State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Signal compared the lawsuit to the Nazi rally astatine Madison Square Garden successful 1939. (AP)

Democratic backlash

The rally has caused contention among section Democrats, including State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Signal, who on X earlier this month slammed the lawsuit arsenic “equivalent to the infamous Nazis rally astatine Madison Square Garden connected February 20, 1939.”

Hoylman-Sigal, whose territory connected the westbound broadside of Manhattan includes the Garden, said that Trump’s determination to run successful New York successful the past agelong of his run appears futile.

“Trump is pushing to his hard-right-wing choir in, of each states, deep-blue New York,” Hoylman-Sigal told the Daily News. “I’m not a governmental strategist, but it doesn’t look to marque overmuch consciousness successful the closing days of the election.

“It’s a discarded of his clip and precious run resources, if you inquire me. So I conjecture I’m blessed whenever he’s not successful a plaything authorities that really matters.”