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    • MAGA faithful flood New York for Trump rally with Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson
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    MAGA faithful flood New York for Trump rally with Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson

    Umito Posted on

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    NEW YORK – They camped out overnight, filled subways, turned streets surrounded by skyscrapers into a river of red MAGA hats and paraded cars and trucks loaded with Donald Trump flags. the heart of the Big Apple.

    The Republican presidential candidate was in town and his “Make America Great Again” supporters came out in force to show that even in the bluest part of one of the bluest states, this is a movement to be reckoned with .

    Trump’s image shone on the jumbotrons outside Madison Square Garden with the words “Dream Big Again!” » and his supporters dreamed of Trump returning to the White House, propelled to the finish line by a Sunday gathering in one of the world’s iconic arenas.

    “Good, bad, it doesn’t matter, it’s historic and it’s something to see,” said Mike Zarro, a 28-year-old tow truck driver from Long Island, who told USA TODAY he left for Manhattan before dawn to make the Trump rally.

    Madison Square Garden has hosted some of the world’s biggest celebrities, sports figures and musicians over the decades, noted radio show host Sid Rosenberg as he warmed up the crowd, calling it “a building made of champions and greats of all time” before being crowned. Trump is “the greatest champion of them all.”

    Trump’s rally in deep blue New York, nine days before the Nov. 5 election, raised eyebrows among some political pundits who questioned why he would walk away from swing states. But by enveloping the former president in the aura of an iconic arena and creating a lively spectacle in the nation’s media capital, the Republican’s campaign hoped to create a moment that would reverberate across the country and cut through the noise in a tight race for the White House.

    Featuring a lineup of MAGA celebrity speakers, including Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson And Rudy Giulianithe event also served as a megaphone to get Trump supporters to the polls, with many attendees describing it as the ultimate Trump rally. It featured more entertainment than a typical rally, from expertly produced videos to a comedian, artist and three singers.

    “We are meeting here today in the middle of Midtown Manhattan,” said Giuliani, a former New York mayor and Trump’s personal lawyer. “This is the most iconic place in America. This is where a Republican is not supposed to come, which is why Donald Trump came here. There is no place in America where the president should not be able to come!

    Trump supporters flocked to the city early, in anticipation.

    North Carolina retiree Bill Robinson, 65, said he has attended 53 Trump rallies since 2015. As for Trump at Madison Square Garden, Robinson said he would be “the granddaddy of them all” then that he was camping Saturday afternoon near the arena and stadium. first person in a line that would stretch an entire city block the next morning.

    “Fifty percent of the gathering is Trump, the rest is hanging around like-minded people,” Robinson said.

    Near Robinson, Pennsylvania, truck driver Richard Everit, 59, waved a Trump flag and exchanged punches with bystanders who offered words of support for the former president.

    Everit said he never voted until he first voted for Trump in 2020. The then-outgoing Republican president “opened my eyes.” Now he says he wears Trump clothes everywhere he goes.

    His Trump flag, hat and shirt made Brad James stop as he walked past.

    James, 25, a Jamaican immigrant who is attending an Ivy League law school, said he and his twin brother “came here the right way.” He is unhappy that his family can no longer afford steak for their weekend meals and believes Trump will tackle inflation.

    On Sunday morning, the crowd of Trump supporters around Madison Square Garden numbered in the thousands as they broke through police barricades along 33rd Avenue into the 19,500-seat arena.

    Zarro, the tow truck driver, took the train from his home in Hampton Bays on Long Island at 5:30 a.m. He wanted to support Trump, but more to “be part of history” by seeing the famous former president in a place known for hosting the world’s biggest celebrities.

    Wearing a red MAGA hat, Zarro said he supports abortion rights and doesn’t mind some gun restrictions. His support for Trump has less to do with his policies and more to do with the fact that he sees Trump as someone who “says what he thinks” and who he sees as less beholden to special interests.

    The sea of ​​Trump supporters chanted “USA, USA” as they lined up in jackets and sweatshirts on a cool, sunny fall day. Vendors were selling Trump hats and shirts on every street corner and lined up. Trump pins were $5. Trump hats sold for $10.

    Steven Reid said he travels across the country to attend Trump rallies. He’s sold 7,000 Trump hats in the past three days, and a few hundred as of midday Sunday. The classic red MAGA hat is his best seller.

    The crowd gathered for the Madison Square Garden rally was “more ethnic, more diverse” than the typical Trump rally, Reid said.

    A man stopped and bought an “I Was There” pin with Trump’s likeness, the date of the rally and the name of the venue. “It’s history here,” he said.

    Rally attendees marveled at the mass of red Trump supporters in blue New York, which Trump lost by wide margins in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

    “It’s amazing,” said Ryan O’Donnell, 39, a Pennsylvania resident, looking at the crowd around him. “There are a lot of people who support him. Rather, it is what we might call a silent majority.

    Dorothy Purtill, 53, said she sees signs of support for Trump everywhere in her town of Wappingers Falls, New York — flags, vehicle parades, people waving signs on street corners.

    “I feel like he has a lot of momentum behind him, and I think he can make it happen,” said Purtill, a legal secretary and mother of six who regularly feeds 12 people dinner and has struggling to pay for groceries.

    Some New Yorkers, however, were not enthusiastic about the MAGA invasion. They talked about the crowded streets and visible signs of support for Trump everywhere. Walking past a T-shirt vendor, one man said he would buy a Trump shirt if he needed something to wipe his butt.

    Along Eighth Street, outside the arena, a woman with bright red hair dragged a cart with a banner saying “welcome to your Nazi rally.” Nearby, another woman with a “Stop Project 2025” banner held up a banner reading “Trump should be in jail on one side” and “Don the Criminal” on the other.

    Some Trump critics even infiltrated the rally. Marty Nagel, a lawyer who lives on the South Shore of Long Island, is not a Trump fan, but he wore a red MAGA hat to the rally to blend in. He wanted to witness the scene in person.

    “I am concerned about how the legal system is going to hold up in a Trump victory or defeat and I am here to bear witness to that,” Nagel said.

    A large media contingent also turned out for the rally, with cameras all over the streets. New York is also the Mecca of entertainment. Artist Robert Smigel worked the crowd with his puppet creation, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.

    A man wearing a white MAGA hat turned the interview around to Triumph and asked if he would attend the rally. Triumph said no. He was told “they already have too many puppets.”

    Umito
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