NEW YORK: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump headlined a rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Sunday (Oct 27) that began with a series of vulgar and racist remarks by allies of the former president.
Trump, a New York celebrity for decades, hoped to use the event at the iconic venue known for Knicks basketball games and Billy Joel concerts to deliver his closing argument against Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, even though the state last backed a Republican presidential candidate in 1984.
“I’d like to begin by asking a very simple question. Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” Trump said at the start of his speech. The crowd shouted: “No.”
He went on to promise that he would stop an “invasion of criminals coming into our country” if he wins the Nov 5 election, and called Harris a “very low IQ individual”.
The list of at least 20 opening speakers varied widely from former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan to former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani to Trump’s sons Eric and Don Jr.
Some of Trump’s introductory speakers used racist and misogynistic language to warm up a capacity crowd.
Rudy Giuliani, the one-time New York City mayor and a former personal lawyer to Trump, falsely claimed that Harris was “on the side of the terrorists” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and wanted to bring Palestinians to the United States.
Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe used crass language in joking that Latinos “love making babies” and called the Caribbean US territory of Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage”.
Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin posted a clip of the comments on his Instagram and wrote, in Spanish, “This is what they think of us.”
While Puerto Ricans are US citizens, those living on the island cannot vote in US general elections. However, millions of Puerto Ricans who have moved to the mainland United States can fully participate in elections, and many have taken up residence in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Source: CNA
