Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York, US, on October 27, 2024.
Andrew Kelly Reuter
republican presidential candidate donald trump The highlight of Sunday’s rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden began with a series of vulgar and racist remarks by allies of the former president.
The last time New York state supported a Republican presidential candidate was in 1984, but Mr. Trump, who has been a celebrity in New York for decades, has been at the iconic venue known for Knicks basketball games and Billy Joel concerts. He had hoped to use the event at the venue to deliver closing arguments against Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. .
President Trump has repeatedly spoken of his plan to stop illegal immigration and deport immigrants, whom he describes as “violent, bloodthirsty criminals” if he wins the Nov. 5 election.
“From day one, we will begin the largest deportation program in American history,” he said. “I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered.”
President Trump called Harris “a person with a very low IQ” and drew cheers from supporters for her harsh remarks about immigrants.
He vowed to ban sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and to invoke the Alien Enemy Act of 1798, which deports immigrants with criminal records.
The long list of opening speakers ranges from former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to Trump’s sons Eric and Don Jr.
Some used racist and misogynistic language to appease the packed crowd.
President Trump’s former personal lawyer Giuliani falsely claimed that Harris was “on the side of terrorists” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe used vulgar language to joke that Latinos “love to make babies” and called Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory in the Caribbean, a “floating island of trash.”
Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin posted a clip of the comments on his Instagram, writing in Spanish, “This is what they think of us.”
Daniel Alvarez, a senior Trump campaign adviser, told Reuters that jokes about Puerto Rico “do not reflect the views of President Trump or his campaign.”
Although Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, residents of the island cannot vote in U.S. general elections.
But millions of Puerto Ricans who have immigrated to the U.S. mainland can vote, and there is a large community in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Harris visited a Puerto Rican restaurant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s largest city, early Sunday morning. She posted a video on social media in which she promised to “invest in Puerto Rico’s future” as president.
Harris’ campaign said in an email that the rally at Madison Square Garden “reflects the same dangerously divisive and humiliating message” as President Trump.
Trump’s opponent in the 2016 presidential election, Democrat Hillary Clinton, accused him of “reenacting” a pro-Nazi rally held at Madison Square Garden in 1939 on the eve of World War II. criticized.
President Trump’s critics have long accused him of empowering white supremacists with dehumanizing and racist rhetoric.
President Trump rejected comparisons to the 1930s. “This is called ‘Make America Great Again,’ and that’s what it’s all about,” he said Friday.
“This is Donald Trump’s house today,” wrestler Hulk Hogan said at an event in New York on Sunday. He denied accusations that President Trump is a fascist, saying: “There are no Nazis here.”
Elon Musk, the American billionaire who is using his social media platform and vast wealth to support President Trump’s re-election, was welcomed to the stage with chants of “Elon”.
“This is the positive energy that America has,” Musk said.
Musk, who President Trump has chosen to chair the new Government Efficiency Commission, said the federal budget could be cut by “at least” $2 trillion.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, discretionary spending, including defense spending, is estimated to total $1.9 trillion of the $6.75 trillion in total federal spending in fiscal year 2024.
In his speech, President Trump claimed that Americans are worse off now than they were four years ago.
He announced a new policy that would provide tax credits to caregivers who care for parents and other family members.
President Trump touted his foreign policy accomplishments during his 2017-21 presidency, saying he had no intention of starting a war while in office, but if the U.S. went to war with China, “we would “I’m going to kick his ass,” he added.
Opinion polls show Harris and Trump in a close race battleground states The next president will be chosen in just over a week until voting day. More than 38 million votes have already been cast across the United States.
Trump has sought to link Harris to the Biden administration’s response to immigration and the economy. Last week, President Trump unveiled a new attack: “She broke it. I promise to fix it.”
Since the coronavirus crisis, the economy has outperformed other developed countries, and the stock market has hit record highs this year. But soaring food, utility and home prices are unsettling voters who believe the economy is heading in the wrong direction.
Harris, who rallied with Bruce Springsteen in Atlanta on Thursday and Beyoncé in Houston on Friday, held another high-profile event Tuesday, a speech on the National Mall in Washington, where she and Trump We plan to highlight the differences between Mr. .
“He’s full of grievances. He’s full of dark words about retribution and revenge,” Harris said of Trump in Philadelphia on Sunday.
The Trump campaign said the event at the 19,500-seat Madison Square Garden, which can cost more than $1 million to rent, is sold out. As with Harris’ Houston rally, tickets are free and on a first-come, first-served basis.
About 30,000 people attended a rally between Harris and Beyoncé in Houston on Friday night, and about 20,000 people attended a rally in Atlanta.
“Intraparty voting is my instinct,” Harris told reporters in Philadelphia when asked how the party’s predictions were going. “We have the momentum too.”
