Republican president nominee Donald Trump put on a splashy rally at New York’s hallmark Madison Square Garden, but repeated insults and at times racist and misogynistic remarks from guest speakers threatened to grab the most attention.<\/b>
\nDonald Trump put on a splashy rally in New York City\u2019s Madison Square Garden on Sunday to kick off the final full week of campaigning for president, complete with celebrity guests and a new economic proposal.
But repeated insults and at times racist and misogynistic remarks from guest speakers threatened to grab the most attention.
The final weeks of a campaign are often when candidates put forth a unifying message to gather as many voters as possible. Trump\u2019s Madison Square Garden rally was instead marked by swear words, racist jokes about Latinos, and misogynistic remarks.
The focus could help Trump grab headlines and mobilize some existing supporters, though it’s unlikely to bring in new voters who are already turned off by some of the Republican presidential candidate\u2019s rhetoric.
The first speaker at the former president\u2019s Madison Square Garden rally, roast comedian and podcast host Tony Hinchcliffe, set the tone with a disparaging joke about welcoming Latinos into the U.S. \u201cwith open arms\u201d while making a shooing motion.
He also disparaged Latinos with a crass joke about making babies and illegal immigration, quipped that Puerto Rico is \u201ca floating island of garbage,\u201d and joked that Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce \u201cmight be the next O.J. Simpson,\u201d referring to the football star who was accused and later acquitted of murdering his ex-wife.
Kelce is in a relationship with pop singer Taylor Swift, who earlier this year said she would vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump has made anti-immigrant rhetoric a centerpiece of his campaign. As president, he also talked about ending the automatic right to citizenship for babies born in the U.S. to noncitizens \u2014though many scholars agree changing the law could require a constitutional amendment.
The Trump campaign is currently fighting to get votes from women and Latinos. Polls suggest the gender gap in this year\u2019s election could be the largest on record. The Harris campaign, in contrast, has been highlighting stories of women whose lives have been threatened by strict abortion bans.
The Harris campaign immediately seized on Hinchcliffe\u2019s remarks about Puerto Rico. In a tweet posted after his introduction, Hinchcliffe wrote in response, \u201cThese people have no sense of humor.\u201d He also added, \u201cI love Puerto Rico and vacation there. I made fun of everyone\u2026 watch the whole set.\u201d
Defining who is an American
The rally marshaled high-profile Trump supporters including Terry Bollea \u2014 better known as the professional wrestler Hulk Hogan \u2014 television personality Dr. Phil McGraw, and singer-songwriter Lee Greenwood.
But other Trump allies appealed to an \u201cus versus them\u201d mentality. Radio host Sid Rosenberg insulted former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, as well as the Democratic Party as a whole.
\u201cThe whole party \u2014 a bunch of degenerates,\u201d he added. \u201cJew-haters and lowlifes, every one of them.\u201d
Multiple speakers also insulted Harris, with private equity fund manager Grant Cardone calling her a «fake.» «Her and her pimp handlers will destroy our country», he said.
Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson later made fun of Harris\u2019 mixed-race heritage.
\u201cIt\u2019s gonna be pretty hard [for Democrats] to look at us and say, \u2018You know what? Kamala Harris, she got 85 million votes because she\u2019s just so impressive. As the first Samoan-Malaysian low-IQ former California prosecutor ever to be elected president. It was just a groundswell of popular support.\u2019\u201d
Carlson went beyond insults, nodding to the racist \u201cgreat replacement theory\u201d he has espoused in the past.
\u201cPeople know in a country that has been taken over by a leadership class that actually despises them and their values and their history and their culture and their customs, really hates them to the point that it’s trying to replace them,\u201d he said. \u201cThey know someone who actually has affection for them and that’s Donald Trump. And it\u2019s requited.\u201d
That sentiment was echoed later, when former Trump White House aide Stephen Miller told the crowd: \u201cAmerica is for Americans and Americans only.\u201d
Tax credits and \u2018enemy from within\u2019
After a more than four-hour pre-program of speakers, Melania Trump made a rare campaign trail appearance, introducing her husband.
In his speech, Trump started by laying out his economic message, emphasizing the inflation that hit the country under the Biden administration, and saying he would fix it.
He also announced a new policy, saying he would implement a tax credit for people caring for family members at home.
Harris earlier this month announced her own plan to expand Medicare to cover that kind of caregiving.
Trump also devoted a large section of his speech, as he often does, to the topic of undocumented immigrants.
\u201cOnce I take office, the migrant invasion of our country ends and the restoration of our country begins,\u201d he told the crowd.
Trump also took the time to address a recent interview with Fox News, in which he had characterized \u201cradical left lunatics\u201d as \u201cthe enemy from within\u201d and proposed using the military against them.
He stood behind those comments at Sunday night\u2019s rally.
\u201cThey\u2019re smart and they\u2019re vicious, and we have to defeat them,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd when I say, \u2018the enemy from within,\u2019 the other side goes crazy. Becomes a sound \u2013 \u2018oh, how can he say\u2019 \u2013 no, they\u2019ve done very bad things to this country. They are indeed the enemy from within.\u201d
However, Trump still attempted to make his speech into a message of unity.
\u201cThe Republican party has really become the party of inclusion, and there\u2019s something nice about that,\u201d he said near the end of his remarks.<\/p>\n