Donald Trump said that he would hold a rally in Madison Square Garden to “make a play for New York,” a state he trails Kamala Harris by double digits.
“We just rented Madison Square Garden,” he told a cheering crowd in Joe Biden‘s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday. “It hasn’t been done in many decades. But we’re gonna make… how can New York be run worse than it is right,” Trump said.
He then went on to disparage New York City and its immigrant population.
“I mean, I think that, you know, the migrants. The migrants have taken over Madison Ave. They’ve taken over 5th Ave. they’ve taken over the parks, the kids can’t play Little League. You know, it sounds like a trivial thing. It’s a big deal when you have a son that’s a Little League player and he can’t play. So, we’re going to go to Madison Square Garden.”
The rally will be held at the Midtown venue on October 27, just days before the November 5 election.
But despite his hopes of flipping the Empire State, Trump is not very popular in his old hometown. The former President lived in New York City his entire life until 2019 when he changed his official address to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Since Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed Harris, seven polls have been conducted in the State. Harris has won every poll by between 12 and 21 points.
New York last backed a Republican in 1984 when it voted for Ronald Reagen. In 2016, Hillary Clinton carried the state by 22 points, and Biden carried it by 23 points.
Since 2016, New Yorkers have repeatedly held protests in the streets of Manhattan, sometimes outside Trump Tower to chant “New York hates you” as he drives or walks past.
Trump has frequently criticized the New York state government and judiciary. In May, a jury of 12 New Yorkers unanimously convicted Trump of 34 counts of falsifying business records after deliberating for two days. Trump has maintained that he is innocent of any crimes and is the subject of “lawfare”, rather than legitimate legal cases.
Madison Square Garden, home to the New York Knicks and one of the most famous arenas in the world, has a capacity of 19,500 seats.
The venue hosted the Democratic National Convention in 1924, 1976, 1980 and 1992, as well as the Republican National Convention in 2004.
Last month, Trump held a rally in Nassau County, a Republican-leaning County on Long Island. Video footage appeared to show many empty seats in the 16,000-seat Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum during his speech.
Newsweek has contacted Madison Square Garden and the Trump campaign for comment via email.
An exterior view of the Chase Entrance of the Madison Square Garden on September 18, 2024, in New York City. Inset, Donald Trump on October 4, 2024, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Trump announced he has booked Madison Square Garden for a New York rally.
Aaron M. Sprecher/Win McNamee/Getty Images
