Donald Trump and Melania enrapture his fans in sellout New York City rally

Ex-President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump excited and energized his supporters at a sold out rally at iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Trump was introduced by Melania in her first appearance at any of his rallies in the 2024 election cycle. She wore a zebra print dress and called New York City ‘our hometown’.

The Republican candidate attacked his opponents and bashed immigrants.

‘They’re smart and they’re vicious, and we have to defeat them,’ Trump said of Democrats.

Thousands of Donald Trump supporters are gathering in New York City for a rally for the ex-President in the Democratic stronghold.

A river of people spanning more than a block waited in line to get into Madison Square Garden in Manhattan early Sunday afternoon – also known as the ‘World’s most famous arena.’

As cops slowly let the crowd through barricaded sections of the street, they chanted, ‘USA, USA, USA, Trump, Trump, Trump.’

On a rooftop near the arena, at least two snipers were spotted overlooking the crowd ahead of the rally for the Republican presidential candidate Trump.

Trump’s celebrity supporters took to the stage, including Dr Phil and Hulk Hogan.

Hogan, 71, a former professional wrestler, ripped his top after entering the stage waving the US flag.

People of all ages and ethnicities lined up on 33rd Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues. Some wore red MAGA hats, others Trump flags over their backs.

Queens resident Nick Lauda, 24, and his friend said they lined up around 12.15pm because it ‘would be cool to see him (Trump) in person’.

‘I think it shows how well he’s doing if he was able to get this venue because I don’t know if he would have been able to four to eight years ago,’ Lauda, who has been supporting Trump since his first run in 2016, told Metro.

Lauda said he thinks Trump will win the November election because polls have shown the Republican candidate leading in some swing states. 

‘Polls already skew Democratic so I think he’s up by a lot,’ he said.

‘You have a good feeling but you never know.’

Outside the arena, people sold MAGA hats, flags and merchandise, a scene not typically seen in New York City which is majority Democrat.

A British woman, who declined to giver her name because she said her friends would not speak to her for supporting Trump, lined up for the rally — even though she cannot vote.

She said she supports Trump’s plans to secure the border and finds it unbelievable that it is frowned upon to voice support for the former president in New York City.

While waiting outside close to the Madison Square Garden entrance, David Schey, 64, said he came for ‘all the people’. It was the fourth Trump rally he has attended.

‘It’s the same spiel over and over, it’s a show,’ he said of Trump’s speeches. ‘You’ve met very nice people, right? No violence.’

The resident of Deer Park, Long Island, added that he thinks Trump is ‘the best bet to get us back on track’ because ‘I don’t know where we’re heading to’.

‘I think he’s the strongest candidate, especially to be on the world stage right now,’ he said.

Brooklyn resident Maria Cordones, 68, wore a Trump flag around her shoulders and said Trump was sent from God to end wars.

‘I came here from church, I was praying because God wants him to be president. He promised he would end the war within 24 hours. I am Christian and we don’t believe in war and bloodshed,’ she said in Spanish.

Cordones, who moved from the Dominican Republic to New York in 1997 and is a chaplain who works with prisons, said she is not a political person but that no other candidate has promised to end wars.

‘Trump is taking a risk because there have been assassination attempts and he is choosing to do this instead of retiring,’ she said.

Joanna Rivera, 42, who attended Trump’s rally in May in the Bronx where she lives, said she didn’t think the crowd at Madison Square Garden would be as big as it was.

‘I get emotional when I see so many supporters,’ she said. ‘There’s a sense of togetherness.’

Rivera, a social worker whose family is from Puerto Rico, has Trump on her cell phone lock screen said she came alone.

‘I support his vision, his views on abortion and the number one reason is he is adamant about decreasing the number of illegal immigrants coming in and killing our people, taking our jobs,’ she said.

‘He’s not a puppet — he has a mind of his own, had no filter.’

Though she didn’t get into the arena and was watching a big screen of the rally outside, she said, ‘I’m not leaving until he comes out.’

The rally comes a day after Donald Trump took a dig at Beyoncé for attending an event for Vice President Kamala Harris.

The 78-year-old said at a rally in Traverse City, Michigan, yesterday that ‘Joe Biden is asleep’ while Harris is ‘at a dance party with Beyoncé,’ referring to the Democratic presidential candidate’s appearance with the hit singer at her rally in Houston, Texas.

Harris was caught jokingly swearing at a bar in Michigan yesterday as she met with the governor Gretchen Whitmer in the crucial swing state.

She joked the media was ‘listening to everything’ before noticing the media surrounding them.

‘I didn’t notice that. We just told all the family secrets, s***,’ she said.

Elon Musk has raised some eyebrows after appearing at a town hall event in Pennsylvania yesterday where he claimed it is possible aliens are ‘here right now.’

The SpaceX billionaire has pledged to give a randomly chosen winner $1,000,000 until the US election on Tuesday, November 5 – move which has been branded ‘deeply concerning’ by experts.

Musk appeared at Trump’s rally wearing a black MAGA hat.

‘I’m not just MAGA; I’m Dark Gothic MAGA,’ he said. 

Musk, whom Trump has promised a role in his administration if elected, added he could cut $2trillion from the budget.

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