MAGA believers flock to New York for Trump rally with Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson

NEW YORK – They camped out overnight, packed the subways, turned the skyscraper-lined streets into a river of red MAGA hats and paraded cars and trucks laden with Donald Trump flags through the heart of the Big Apple.

The Republican presidential candidate was in town and his “Make America Great Again” supporters were out in force, showing that even in the dreariest part of one of the dreariest states, they are a movement to be reckoned with.

Trump's image flashed on the jumbotrons outside Madison Square Garden with the words “Dream Big Again!” and his supporters dreamed of Trump in the White House, driven across the finish line by a rally Sunday in one of the world's most famous arenas.

“Good, bad, whatever, it's historic and something to witness,” said Mike Zarro, a 28-year-old tow truck driver from Long Island who told USA TODAY he set off in the early morning hours Manhattan turned it into a Trump rally.

Madison Square Garden has hosted some of the world's greatest celebrities, athletes and musicians for decades, noted radio host Sid Rosenberg as he warmed up the audience, calling it a “building of champions and greats of all time” before its inauguration, calling Trump “the greatest champion.” from all.”

Trump's rally in deep blue New York City nine days before the Nov. 5 election left some political experts scratching their heads, wondering why he would take time off from the swing states. But by enveloping the former president in the aura of an iconic arena and creating a vibrant spectacle in the nation's media capital, the Republican's campaign hoped to engineer a moment that would reverberate across the country and cut through the noise in a tight white race would house.

Featuring a lineup of MAGA celebrity speakers including Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson and Rudy Giuliani, the event also served as a megaphone to get Trump supporters out to vote, with many attendees calling it the ultimate Trump rally. There was more entertainment than the typical rally, from slickly produced videos to a comedian, an artist and three singers.

“We gather here today in the middle of midtown Manhattan,” said Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and Trump’s personal lawyer. “This is the most iconic venue of any venue in the United States.” This is not where a Republican should come, which is why Donald Trump came here. There is no place in America the President shouldn’t come!”

Early on, Trump supporters flocked to the city full of anticipation.

North Carolina retiree Bill Robinson, 65, said he has attended 53 Trump rallies since 2015. As for Trump at Madison Square Garden, Robinson said he would be “the granddaddy of them all” while camped near the arena Saturday afternoon and the first person in a line that stretched across a whole the next morning block would extend.

“Fifty percent of the rally is Trump, the rest is being with like-minded people,” Robinson said.

Near Robinson, Pennsylvania, 59-year-old truck driver Richard Everit waved a Trump flag and exchanged fist bumps with passersby who voiced their support for the former president.

Everit said he never voted until he voted for Trump for the first time in 2020. The then incumbent Republican president “opened my eyes.” Now he said he wears Trump gear wherever he goes.

His Trump flag, hat and shirt made Brad James stop in his tracks as he passed.

James, 25, an immigrant from Jamaica who is attending an Ivy League law school, said he and his twin brother “came here on the right path.” He's upset that his family can no longer afford to buy steaks for their weekend cookouts and believes Trump will fight inflation.

On Sunday morning, the crowd of Trump supporters around Madison Square Garden had grown to thousands as they streamed through police lines down 33rd Avenue and into the 19,500-seat arena.

Zarro, the tow truck driver, was taking the train from his home in Hampton Bays on Long Island at 5:30 a.m. He wanted to support Trump but more “be part of history” by meeting the prominent former president at a well-known venue that hosted the world's biggest celebrities.

Wearing a red MAGA hat, Zarro said he supported abortion rights and did not object to some gun restrictions. His support for Trump is less about his policies and more about the fact that he sees Trump as someone who “speaks his mind” and who he sees as less beholden to special interests.

The sea of Trump supporters erupted in chants of “USA, USA” as they stood in line in jackets and sweatshirts on a cool, sunny fall day. On every street corner, vendors sold Trump hats and shirts and waited on lines. Trump pins were $5. Trump hats sold for $10.

Steven Reid said he travels across the country to Trump rallies. He has sold 7,000 Trump hats in the last three days and a few hundred by midday on Sunday. The classic red MAGA hat is his best seller.

The crowd that gathered for the rally at Madison Square Garden was “more ethnic and diverse” than the typical Trump rally, Reid said.

One man stopped and bought an “I was there” pin with Trump’s likeness, the date of the rally and the name of the venue. “That’s history,” he said.

Rally-goers marveled at the mass of red Trump supporters in blue New York, which Trump lost significantly in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

“This is amazing,” said Ryan O'Donnell, 39, of Pennsylvania as he looked around the crowd. “There are a lot of people who support him. They are more like what you would call a silent majority.”

Dorothy Purtill, 53, said she sees signs of support for Trump everywhere in her town of Wappingers Falls, New York – flags, vehicle parades, people waving signs on street corners.

“It feels like he has a lot of momentum behind him, and I think he can do it,” said Purtill, a legal secretary and mother of six who regularly feeds 12 people for dinner and struggles with food costs.

Some New Yorkers, however, weren't thrilled with the MAGA invasion. They grumbled about the crowded streets and the signs of Trump support everywhere. As a man walked past a T-shirt seller, he said he would buy a Trump shirt if he needed something to wipe his butt.

Along Eighth Street in front of the arena, a woman with bright red hair towed a cart with a banner that read, “Welcome to your Nazi rally.” Nearby, another woman wearing a “Stop Project 2025” headband waved a banner that read “Trump should be in prison” on one side and “Don the Felon” on the other.

Some Trump critics even infiltrated the rally. Marty Nagel, a lawyer who lives on the south shore of Long Island, is not a Trump fan but wore a red MAGA hat at the rally to keep a low profile. He wanted to witness the scene in person.

“I worry about how the legal system will withstand a Trump win or a Trump loss, and I'm here to bear witness,” Nagel said.

A large media contingent also flocked to the rally, with cameras everywhere on the streets. New York is also an entertainment mecca. Entertainer Robert Smigel thrilled the audience with his puppet creation Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.

A man wearing a white MAGA hat turned the interview to Triumph and asked if he would attend the rally. Triumph said no. He was told, “You already have way too many dolls.”

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