 "‘Kamala broke it, Trump will fix it’: What Republicans said at Madison Square, 5 big takeaways")
With just little over a week left for the 2024 US Presidential Elections, the former US President held a star-studded rally at Madison Square Garden, on Sunday. With the rally which many called “provocative”, Trump kicked off the final full week of campaigning at the heart of Manhattan.
Intending to excite the crowd, the Trump campaign trotted out several high-profile speakers, including Trump’s wife and ex-First Lady Melania Trump. While Trump is not a favourite candidate in New York, the rally managed to garner significant media attention.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the event:
1) A message to voters — ‘Kamala broke it, Trump will fix it’
Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally was seen as the opening of his closing arguments to the voters before the polls. At the heart of the closing message, was a constant reminder that Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden’s administration “broke” the system which will be fixed by Trump if he returns to power.
“On issue after issue, Kamala broke it, but I will fix it. And we’re going to fix it,” Trump said later as supporters behind the stage waved signs that read, “Trump Will Fix It.” Throughout his re-election bid, the business mogul turned politician bashed Harris and called her names. From mocking her laughter to undermining her intelligence Trump did it all.
2) New tax proposal
One of the strongest points for Trump during his campaigning was his economic policies. At the Sunday event, the former president rolled out a new policy. However, Trump’s proposal interestingly echoed something first proposed by his Democratic opponent.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“I am announcing a new policy today that I will support a tax credit for family caregivers who take care of a parent or a loved one. It’s about time that they were recognised,” Trump said.
Earlier this month, Harris pledged to expand Medicare benefits so that the program covers the costs of long-term home care for older Americans. Harris argued that the program would help those who are caring for both their own children and their ageing parents. In the past, Trump also called for eliminating taxes on the tipped wages.
3) A star-studded affair with high-profile guests
At the New York rally, the former president pulled all his cards and brought out his high-profile allies. These personalities included Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, billionaire Elon Musk, Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump Jr., Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Hulk Hogan and Speaker Mike Johnson.
However, the star of the show was former First Lady Melania Trump who made a rare campaign appearance at the event. This was seen as the Trump campaign’s efforts to counter the star-studded support Harris is getting in this election cycle, including endorsements from Taylor Swift and Beyonce.
“This is a real election battle. So you need to get friends and families to vote. Make sure they vote. Vote early. This is important,” said Musk, who garnered major applause from the crowd.
4) How the Trump-backers stoke racism
The plethora of prominent speakers who preceded Trump stirred headlines by hurling controversial and sexist insults. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who goes by Kill Tony, delivered a set that included inflammatory attacks on Puerto Ricans. “There’s a lot going on. Like I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” Hinchcliffe said, garnering a mixed reaction from the crowd.
Even Carlson mocked Harris’s racial identity. Not only this, Sid Rosenberg, a New York City radio host whose show Trump calls into periodically referred to the Democrats with derogatory terms and launched outright abuses. “She is some sick bas***d, that Hillary Clinton. What a sick son of a bi**h,” he said of the former secretary of State and 2016 Democratic nominee. “The whole f**king party. A bunch of degenerates.”
Harris’s campaign immediately condemned the remarks hurled by the speakers. “Usually pre-game speeches matter little. Pretty remarkable Trump’s MSG warm-up acts are all creating controversy and content that will hurt him,” senior Harris campaign aide David Plouffe posted on X. “And that’s before his Soviet-style speech that will generate much material of concern to the remaining undecided voters," he added.
5) ‘Enemy from within’ narrative found its place
While addressing the rally, Trump defended his remarks of calling some of the Democrats “worse than foreign adversaries”. “When I say the enemy from within, the other side goes crazy. Becomes a soundbite – ‘Oh how can he say…,’” Trump said. “No, they’ve done very bad things to this country. They are indeed the enemy from within. But this is who we’re fighting," he added.
He later went on to refer to the press as the “enemy of the people”. During an interview with Fox News, Trump suggested that the military could be used to quell protests from his critics. These comments prompted many to call out Trump’s “authoritarian tendencies”.
With inputs from agencies.
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