Former President Donald Trump is set to host a high-priced RSVP-only fundraising event in New York City, offering MAGA (Make America Great Again) loyalists a chance to attend a “Special Evening” with him for up to $924,600 per person.
The rally, scheduled for October 27 at Madison Square Garden, comes as Trump trails significantly in New York polls against Vice President Kamala Harris.
Reporter Teddy Schleifer of The New York Times shared the invitation on X, writing, “What will Trump be [doing] the final ten days of the campaign? Fundraising. This speaks to Trump’s money issues—both he and Vance are spending precious time in New York on Oct. 27.”
According to the invitation, the event features several tiers of “experiences,” with the top-tier “Ultra MAGA Experience” priced at $924,600. The options include:
- – “Team Trump 2024 Experience”: $250,000 to give or $500,000 to raise
- – “Team America First Experience”: $100,000 to give or $200,000 to raise
- – “Club 47 Experience”: $50,000 to give or $70,000 to raise
- – “MAGA 24 Experience”: $35,000 to give
- – “President’s Club Experience”: $5,000 to give
Newsweek contacted Trump’s campaign via email on Monday for comment.
Trump’s decision to host a rally in New York City, where he lived most of his life until 2019, is a curious move considering recent polling data.
According to Nate Silver‘s FiveThirtyEight polling, as of October 14, Harris holds a significant lead over Trump in New York. The poll shows Harris at 53.8 percent compared to Trump’s 39.9 percent, a 14-point advantage. The polling average has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
FiveThirtyEight’s analysis includes several recent polls that consistently favor Harris. An ActiVote poll conducted from September 4 to September 30 showed Harris leading with 61 percent to Trump’s 39 percent.
An Emerson College survey from September 23 to September 25 put Harris at 56 percent and Trump at 42 percent. Two Siena College polls conducted from September 11 to September 16 indicated 55 percent and 52 percent support for Harris versus 42 and 40 for Trump, respectively.
Madison Square Garden (MSG), known primarily for live sports and entertainment and called The World’s Most Famous Arena, is home to the NBA‘s New York Knicks and NHL‘s New York Rangers.
The venue has also played host to numerous political events and controversial gatherings. Its history includes Democratic and Republican national conventions, visits from world leaders and religious figures such as popes, and a Nazi rally in 1939.
Trump’s relationship with his former home state has been tumultuous in recent years. New Yorkers have held numerous protests against him, sometimes outside Trump Tower, chanting, “New York hates you” as he passes by.
In May, a jury in New York convicted Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Trump has maintained his innocence, describing the legal proceedings as “lawfare.”
Former President Donald Trump leaves his civil fraud trial in New York State Supreme Court in New York City on January 11. His campaign is selling fundraising “experiences” for a rally at Madison Square Garden. (Photo by JOHN LAMPARSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Despite the challenging poll numbers, Trump expressed confidence during a recent rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania. “We just rented Madison Square Garden,” he told supporters. “It hasn’t been done in many decades. But we’re gonna make … how can New York be run worse than it is right now?”
