And that was all before Trump was to take the stage.
After being introduced by his wife, Melania Trump, in a rare public appearance, the former president began by asking the same questions he’s asked 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’ll have four more years of gross incompetence and failure, or whether we’ll begin the greatest years in the history of our country,” he said.
He repeated familiar lines about foreign policy and immigration, calling for the death penalty for any migrant who kills a U.S. citizen and saying that the day he takes office, “The migrant invasion of our country ends.”
Tech mogul Elon Musk, who spoke earlier and introduced Melania Trump, was a prominent part of Trump’s closing campaign message. The former president called Musk “a genius” and “special.”
Musk nodded to Trump's recent plan to allow him to lead a government efficiency commission to audit the entire federal government.
“Your money is being wasted and the department of government efficiency is going to fix that," Musk said before taking a place offstage beside Melania Trump.
Many of the speakers Sunday appeared on stage at the Republican National Convention. This time, the same speakers shouted and railed more against Democrats.
Some Democrats, calling Trump a fascist, have compared his Sunday event to a pro-Nazi rally at the Garden in February 1939. Several speakers on Sunday ripped Hillary Clinton, the Democrat defeated by Trump eight years ago, for saying recently that Trump would be “reenacting” the 1939 event.
“Hey guys, they’re now scrambling and trying to call us Nazis and fascists,” said Alina Habba, one of Trump’s attorneys, who draped a sparkly “MAGA” jacket over the lectern as she spoke. “And you know what they’re claiming, guys? It’s very scary. They’re claiming we’re going to go after them and try and put them in jail. Well, ain’t that rich?”
Trump routinely uses his hometown as a foil before audiences in other states, painting a dark vision of the city that bears little resemblance to reality. He’s cast it as crime-ridden and overrun by violent, immigrant gangs who have taken over Fifth and Madison avenues and occupied Times Square.
On Sunday, however, Trump was much more complimentary of the city. He said “no city embodies the spirit” and energy of the American people more and talked about attending basketball and hockey games at the Garden.
After Trump concluded his speech after over an hour, opera singer Christopher Macchio came on stage to perform the song “New York, New York.”
The former president smiled and swayed slightly, his wife standing next to him on stage.
