Donald Trump hosted a crude and racially slurred rally in New York’s Madison Square Garden, turning what his campaign had billed as the event where he would deliver his final message. And what a message that was.
With just over a week to go before Election Day, speakers at Sunday night’s rally called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” called Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris the “Antichrist” and said the woman running for the first woman and first black woman president had started her career as a …prostitute.
“I don’t know if you know this, but there is literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” said Tony Hinchcliffe, a stand-up comedian whose speech also included racist remarks about Latinos, Jews and blacks, all key voters in the election just nine days away.
Scare campaign, false claims and … literal demonization of a political opponent
His “joke” (which wasn’t much laughed at by those in attendance) was immediately criticized by the Harris campaign as she competes with Trump to win over Puerto Rican communities in Pennsylvania and other swing states. Puerto Rican music superstar Bud Bunny endorsed Harris’ candidacy shortly after Hinchcliffe’s appearance.
Trump’s usually combative campaign took the rare step of distancing itself from Hinchcliffe. “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” Latina senior adviser Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.
But other speakers also made inflammatory comments. Trump’s childhood friend David Rehm referred to Harris as the “antichrist” and the “devil” in rhetoric that has caught on among evangelicals who believe that during his assassination attempt Trump was saved by God. Businessman Grant Cardone told the crowd that Harris “and her crooked handlers are going to destroy our country.”
The keynote event reflected the former president’s tone throughout his third campaign for the White House. Although he refrained from doing so on Sunday, Trump has often lashed out at Harris in offensive and personal terms himself, in recent weeks questioning her mental stability and intelligence, as well as calling her “lazy,” a classic racist rant that used against blacks.
A surreal blockbuster
The event was a surreal spectacle featuring former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, television psychologist Dr. Phil, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, politicians such as House Speaker Mike Johnson, and an artist who painted a image of Trump hugging the Empire State Building. All this without the slightest coherence.
After being introduced by his wife, Melania Trump, in a rare public appearance, the former president began by asking the same questions he asks at the start of every recent rally: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” The crowd responded with a resounding “No!”
“This election is a choice between whether we have four more years of great incompetence and failure or whether we begin the greatest years in our country’s history,” he said.
Trump on Sunday added a new proposal to his list of tax cuts aimed at winning over seniors and workers, which already includes vows to end taxation of Social Security benefits, gratuities and overtime pay. A tax credit for carers of a disabled family member. Harris has proposed federal funding for home care costs for older Americans.
Elsewhere, Trump repeated well-known racist rants about foreign policy and immigration in a campaign of terror, calling for the death penalty for any immigrant who kills a US citizen and saying that on the day he takes office, “the invasion of immigrants in our country ends”. As Trump’s remarks neared the hour mark, some in the crowd began to leave.
Tech mogul Elon Musk, who spoke earlier and introduced Melania Trump, featured prominently in closing Trump’s campaign message. The former president called Musk a “genius” and “special.” Musk is expected under Trump’s recent plan to lead a government efficiency commission to scrutinize the entire federal government.
Several of Musk’s businesses, including Tesla and SpaceX, have large government contracts or have relied on US subsidies, and Musk has faced criticism after reports that he has spoken privately with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Musk is expected to be prosecuted for bribing voters.
“Your money is being wasted, and the government efficiency department is going to fix that,” Musk said before taking a seat offstage next to Melania Trump. Many of Sunday’s speakers appeared on stage at the Republican National Convention. This time, the same speakers shouted and got more done against the Democrats.
The former wrestler is now campaigning for Donald Trump
Hogan, returning to the venue where he performed years ago as a professional wrestler, appeared to revive his character, appearing wearing a giant red, orange and yellow boa and waving a large American flag as he posed and danced. He spat on stage during his speech, repeatedly flexed his muscles and told the audience: “Trump is the only man who can fix this country today.”
Some Democrats, who call Trump a fascist, compared his Sunday event to a pro-Nazi rally at the Garden in February 1939. Several speakers on Sunday attacked Hillary Clinton for saying recently that Trump would “reenact” the 1939 event. One of them, radio host Sid Rosenberg, lashed out at Clinton.
“Hey guys, now they’re running around trying to call us Nazis and fascists,” said Alina Haba, one of Trump’s lawyers, who draped a sparkly “MAGA” jacket over the podium as she spoke. “And you know what they’re claiming.” , guys? It’s very scary. They claim we will hunt them down and try to put them in jail. »
Hogan stated in his gruff growl, “I don’t see no stinkin’ Nazis in here.”
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