Donald Trump intends to make his campaign’s final argument at a large homecoming rally at Madison Square Garden, a decision that indicates the former president’s confidence in the race and his celebrity status.
Trump’s decision to host a rally at the famed New York City sports and entertainment arena contrasts with Kamala Harris’ choice of the Ellipse in Washington, where she will return on Tuesday to speak before the Capitol riot on January 6. Both candidates will present their opponents as a threat to the nation.
Trump has long sought to conduct an event in the arena to garner press attention in the country’s media hub. However, it will also be a huge fundraising event, with the campaign providing donors backstage access to the arena, with some top-tier access costing $924,600, according to campaign insiders, as well as an opportunity for Trump to help down-ballot Republicans in the state.
In the last stretch of the election, the former president is attempting to underscore his star power with a rally at the Garden, where he will deliver a closing address claiming that Harris “broke” America and would “fix it.” He will also continue to sit for interviews with influencers and podcasters such as Joe Rogan.
Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump’s 2024 campaign, told HEADLINESFOREVER’s Playbook Deep Dive podcast that nontraditional media and unconventional campaign stops allow Trump to “reconnect with people” and “is a way for us to reach audiences who are not going to make their vote decision based on inside the Beltway publications.”
The unconventional media strategy and campaign events also recall Trump’s 2016 campaign, when he began as a political rookie, appealing to conservatives looking for an unvarnished, nontraditional candidate.
It’s a far cry from 2020, when Trump and his campaign highlighted the power of the president on campaign rallies by displaying Air Force One and hosting the Republican National Convention at the White House, all against the backdrop of the devastating coronavirus outbreak.
Miller stated that Trump’s first presidential campaign tour in early 2023, during which the president made a surprise stop at a local diner in South Carolina to greet supporters, pushed his staff to become more innovative in terms of nontraditional venues and events.
At the event, Trump shook hands and posed for photographs surrounded by photographers, reporters, and aides, and a photo of him with a server went viral. Since then, the former president has made scores of similar unscripted appearances at rallies or on the sidelines of events in battleground states, all with the goal of attracting social media attention.
According to a recent Pew Research survey, more than half of U.S. people say they obtain news from social media at least occasionally, one-third get their news from Facebook and YouTube on a regular basis, and 20% get their news from Instagram. Of course, the figure is significantly higher among young adults, with 39 percent of those under the age of 30 getting their news from TikTok.
Trump’s aides said they are planning special visitors for the Madison Square Garden event to help create buzzy moments, similar to how professional wrestler and Trump supporter Hulk Hogan attended on the final night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Heightened security in the aftermath of assassination attempts has also impacted how and where Trump can hold events, and his campaign intends to prevent protesters from entering the event by increasing security and verifying that the attendee is a Republican or has participated in some way with the campaign.
Trump’s previous visit to Madison Square Garden was in 2019 for an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight, when he went into the venue alongside UFC CEO Dana White and was greeted with a mix of boos and cheers. At the time, Trump remarked it “was a little bit like walking into a Trump rally.”