The final sprint to Election Day will feature one of the world’s most recognized politicians at “the world’s most famous arena.”
Republican nominee Donald Trump has scheduled a rally at Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden for Oct. 27, according to the New York Post. This move brings a strong dose of MAGA red to a deep-blue Democratic stronghold, where Trump has faced both civil and criminal trials.
With the election likely to be decided by key swing states, hosting a major event in Democrat-dominated New York is a bold and potentially risky decision. Time spent in New York could mean less focus on tighter polling states like Pennsylvania, where Trump leads by 0.2 according to the RealClearPolitics polling average, or Nevada, where Harris leads by 1.1.
But this is something Trump has been hinting at for months. On Feb. 4, during an interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Trump said, “[I] think I’ll do one maybe at Madison Square Garden.” He added, “Do I think we have a chance? New York has changed a lot in the last two years. We have migrants all over the street. They are living on Madison Avenue. The people of New York are angry.” Trump dropped a similar hint in a Breitbart News interview on Jan. 2, saying, “I may rent Madison Square Garden, and that’s the belly of the beast, right?”
According to the Post, the rally will be on a first-come, first-served basis. With Madison Square Garden’s 19,500-seat capacity, it would exceed Trump’s other New York rallies, including one in September on Long Island that drew 16,000, and another in the Bronx in May that had a crowd of about 10,000.
The announcement has stirred strong reactions, with a Democratic state senator, Brad Hoylman-Segal, calling it a “disastrous decision by Madison Square Garden.”
Whether the rally proves to be a wise move for Trump remains to be seen, but in his February Sunday Morning Futures interview, Trump expressed confidence in flipping several states, including New Jersey, Virginia, New Mexico, and Minnesota.
The final outcome will be determined in November.
