NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump Holding a rally in New York’s Madison Square Garden with crude and racist slurs, his campaign turned the event into a presentation of his final message as a demonstration to silence his critics.
A week before Election Day, speakers at a Sunday night rally called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” for the Democratic vice president. Kamala Harris The “devil” and the first female and black woman to run for president began her career as a prostitute.
“I don’t know if you know this, but right now there’s an island of garbage floating in the middle of the ocean. It’s called Puerto Rico,” said Tony Hinchcliffe, a stand-up comic whose repertoire includes vulgar and racist comments about Latinos, Jews and black people. All major constituencies are within nine days of the election.
His joke was immediately criticized by Harris’ campaign, which is competing with Trump Conquered Puerto Rican communities In Pennsylvania and other swing states. Puerto Rican music superstar Bad Bunny Hinchcliffe supported Harris shortly after his appearance.
The typically dismal Trump campaign took the rare step of distancing itself from Hinchcliffe. “This joke does not reflect the views or campaign of President Trump,” senior adviser Daniel Alvarez said in a statement.
But other speakers also made incendiary comments. Trump’s childhood friend David Rem referred to Harris as the “Antichrist” and “the devil.” Businessman Grant Cordone told the crowd that Harris and his pimp handlers will destroy our country.
The marquee event reflected the former president’s tone throughout his third White House campaign. Although he refrained from doing so on Sunday, Trump often tears into Harris Offensive and personal terms In recent weeks she has questioned her willpower and intelligence, calling her “lazy,” a racist slur long used against black people.
The event featured former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, television psychic Dr. It was a surreal scene that included politicians including Bill McGraw, former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, House Speaker Mike Johnson and representatives Byron Donalds and Elise Stefanik, as well as an artist who painted the picture. Trump hugging the Empire State Building.
Running late for more than two hours, that was all before Trump took the stage.
After being introduced by his wife, Melania TrumpIn a rare public appearance, the former president began asking the same questions he’s asked at the start of each recent rally: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” The crowd shouted “No!” They replied.
“This election is a choice between four more years of total incompetence and failure or ushering in the greatest years in our country’s history,” he said.
Trump announces new tax breaks for caregivers
Trump added a new plan on Sunday His tax cut list Aimed at winning over seniors and blue-collar workers, pledges to end taxes on Social Security benefits, tips and overtime pay already include: a tax credit for family caregivers.
It comes after Harris spoke of a “sandwich generation” of adults who care for aging parents while also raising their children. Harris has proposed federal funding to cover home care costs for older Americans.
Trump otherwise repeated familiar lines on foreign policy and immigration, calling for the death penalty for any immigrant who kills a U.S. citizen and saying on his inauguration day that “the immigrant invasion of our country is ending.”
An hour into Trump’s remarks, some in the crowd began to leave.
Tech mogul Elon Musk, who spoke earlier and introduced Melania Trump, was a key part of Trump’s final campaign message. The former president called Musk “a genius” and “special.”
Musk gave a nod to Trump’s latest plan to allow him to lead a government performance commission to audit the entire federal government. Many of Musk’s businesses, including Tesla and SpaceX, have major government contracts or rely on U.S. subsidies, and Musk has faced criticism. He spoke privately With Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Your money is being wasted and the Department of Government Efficiency is going to fix that,” Musk said before taking a seat offstage with Melania Trump.
Several speakers appeared on stage at the Republican National Convention on Sunday. This time, the same speakers ranted even more against the Democrats.
Returning to the same venue he performed as a professional wrestler years ago, Hogan emerged wearing a large red, orange and yellow boa and danced around violently waving a large American flag. He spat on stage during his speech, flexed his muscles several times, and told the audience: “The only man who can fix this country today is Trump.”
Trump’s allies go after Democrats for bringing pro-Nazi rally
Some Democrats, Calling Trump A bassist compared his Sunday event A pro-Nazi rally in the Garden In February 1939. Several speakers on Sunday ripped Hillary Clinton, the Democrat who was defeated by Trump eight years ago, for recently saying that Trump was “going to re-enact” the 1939 event. One of them, radio host Sid Rosenberg, slandered Clinton.
“Hey guys, they’re trying to call us Nazis and fascists now,” said Alina Hubba, one of Trump’s lawyers, who wore a bright “MAGA” jacket at the lectern as she spoke. “And you know what they’re demanding, guys? It’s so scary. They’re saying we’re going to go after them and try to put them in jail. Well, isn’t that rich?”
Hogan announced in his raspy growl: “I don’t see any nostrils blowing in here.”
Trump has denounced all four criminal charges against him as politically motivated. He has increased His denunciations in recent weeks of “enemies from within” named domestic political rivals and suggested he would use the military to go after them. Harris, in turn, has referred to Trump is a fascist.
Hours before Trump’s speech, the arena was packed. Outside the arena, the sidewalks were filled with Trump supporters wearing red “Make America Great Again” hats. There was heavy security. Streets were blocked off and access to Penn Station was restricted.
“It shows you that he has more followers than any man who has ever lived,” said Philip D’Agostino, a longtime Trump supporter from Queens, the borough where Trump grew up.
A New Yorker returns home
Trump has a complicated history with where he built his business empire that made him a tabloid and reality TV star. Its residents were charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records last year. He was found guilty in that case and held liable in a civil court for business fraud and sexual abuse.
But Trump has been talking about wanting to hold a rally in what has been dubbed “the most famous arena in the world” since the start of his campaign.
The rally was one of several detours Trump has made from battleground states, including a recent rally in Coachella, California, and rallies in the Jersey Shore and South Bronx.
While some dismissed the stops as vanity events aimed at boosting Trump’s ego, the rallies guaranteed Trump national coverage that would help him reach some of the country’s remaining undecided voters, many of whom don’t get their messages from traditional outlets.
New York has not voted Republican in a presidential election for 40 years. But that hasn’t stopped Trump from continuing to insist he can win. New York is also home to a handful of competitive congressional races that could determine which party controls the House next year.
Trump routinely uses his hometown as a foil to audiences in other states, portraying a bleak vision of the city that bears little resemblance to reality. He showed that the violent, immigrant gangs that had taken over Fifth and Madison avenues and occupied Times Square were crime-ridden and transgressive.
On Sunday, however, Trump had more praise for the city. “No city embodies the soul and energy of the American people,” he said, talking about attending basketball and hockey games at the Garden.
An hour later, after Trump finished his speech, opera singer Christopher Macchio took the stage to perform “New York, New York.”
The former president smiled and waved slightly as his wife stood beside him on the stage.
