Trump, powerhouse guests rock packed MSG with historic rally
Former President Donald Trump took the stage at his historic Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday evening, where thousands of supporters from the deep-blue Northeast state cheered wildly as the 45th president railed against Biden-Harris administration policies and vowed to "Make america great again."
Trump took the stage at Madison Square Garden just after 7 p.m. in the packed stadium, where he focused his speech on spiraling immigration, inflation woes and looking toward the future with lower consumer costs and securing the border. The rally was first-come, first-serve and sold out within hours of being announced this month. Madison Square Garden has a capacity of 19,500 people.
"I'm hereby calling for the death penalty for any migrant that kills an American citizen or a law enforcement officer," Trump told the crowds as he spoke about the illegal immigration crisis since 2021.
"I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, going to kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible. And to expedite removals of Tren de Aragua and other savage gangs like MS-13, which is equally vicious, I will invoke the Alien Enemies act of 1798," he said.
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Trump said Harris was behind "the most egregious betrayal" of any U.S. leader due to immigration policies under the Biden-Harris administration.
"Over the past four years, Kamala Harris has orchestrated the most egregious betrayal that any leader in American history has ever inflicted upon our people. She has violated her oath, eradicated our sovereign border and unleashed an army of migrant gangs who are waging a campaign of violence and terror against our citizens," he said.
The 45th president said that if he's re-elected, he will also immediately ban sanctuary cities across the nation.
The massive rally, where nearly 200,000 people tried to gain access, according to Donald Trump Jr., included a handful of high-profile speakers ahead of Trump's remarks, including an address from former first lady Melania Trump.
"Envision a wonderful America where the seeds of security, prosperity and health are so and once again for the benefit of our families," Melania Trump said before introducing her husband. "Let us start together with a shared vision that builds on American greatness. Let's seize this moment and create a country for tomorrow, the future that we deserve. And now."
Other notable speakers at Trump's rally included House Speaker Mike Johnson, pro wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, tech billionaire Elon Musk, former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance, and TV personality Dr. Phil McGraw.
Trump's speech included a focus on the economy and spiraling inflation and "bringing back the American dream," including vowing to the audience that he will cut their energy costs in half by January 2026 if he's elected.
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"I will terminate the ‘green new scam.’ And we'll cut your energy prices in half, 50%, within one year from Jan. 20th. Is the fake news hearing that?" he said before directing the audience to the "fake news media" at the rally.
Trump touted that if he wins the election next week, he will lower costs for consumers as well as end taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security benefits.
"We will rapidly defeat inflation, and we will very simply make America affordable again. We're going to make it affordable. I will massively cut taxes for workers and small businesses, and we will have no tax on tips. No tax on overtime. And no tax on Social Security benefits for our seniors," he said.
Trump added that under his leadership, the Republican Party has become the "party of inclusion."
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"Jews and Muslims and Catholics and evangelicals and Mormons, and they're all joining our cause in large numbers, larger than anyone has ever seen in this country before, larger than they've ever seen in any country," he said.
"And we're a big, powerful party, and they're losing it. They're really losing it. Together we will lift America to glory beyond your wildest dreams. It's going to happen fast, too."
Kennedy, who ran for president as a Democrat before endorsing Trump in August, railed against the Democratic Party for morphing into a party he no longer recognizes.
"The Democratic Party is the party of war. It's the party of the CIA. You had Kamala Harris giving a speech at the Democratic convention that was written by neocons. It was belligerent, pugnacious. It talked about domination of the world by the United States through our weapons of war. It's the party today that wants to divide Americans. It's a party that is dismantling women's sports by letting men play women's sports," he said.
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"It's the party of Wall Street. It's the party of Bill Gates, who just gave $50 million to Harris. It's the party, and the Harris campaign is very proud that it received the endorsement of 50 former CIA agents and officers and of John Bolton and of Dick Cheney."
Musk wore his all-black MAGA hat during the rally, which he called "dark gothic MAGA," and vowed to cut government spending if Trump secures the election and appoints Musk to the administration as "Secretary of Cost-Cutting."
Trump had teased for months that he would hold a rally at Madison Square Garden and officially announced the event earlier in October.
"This is going to be an iconic, historic day, and you can see it's already full. I mean, it's amazing. These tickets sold out in less than three hours. And it shows the enthusiasm, the momentum, the energy as we are in this closing chapter of an unbelievable campaign," New York Rep. Elise Stefanik told Fox News Digital ahead of the rally, saying New York is in play for the Trump campaign.
Fox Digital spoke to attendees outside the arena, who said they are "excited" to see Trump at home in New York City and that many New Yorkers are ready to pull the lever for the GOP ticket next week.
"Absolutely," Westchester native Alexa Brink told Fox Digital when asked if other New Yorkers she knows will vote for Trump. "All day long; let's go Trump!" She added that she wasn't sure if Trump could win New York, "but we'll try!"
Another rally-goer named Anas Shuaib said that on Nov. 5 voters will tell Harris: "You're fired."
"I'm an Arab American, Muslim American, and I'm voting for Trump because just like Kamala kicked out that Muslim at the rally, Ahmed Ghanim, we're going to kick her out of the White House. And when Trump becomes president, there's going to be peace, there's going to be prosperity, and America first … no one else first," he said.
"We're running against something far bigger than Joe or Kamala. And far more powerful than them, which is a massive, vicious, crooked, radical left machine that runs today's Democrat Party. They're just vessels. In fact, they're perfect vessels because they'll never give them a hard time. They'll do whatever they want. I know many of them. It's just this amorphous group of people. But they're smart, and they're vicious, and we have to defeat them," he said.
"We're going to have the biggest victory in the history of our country on Nov. 5, and it's going to be the biggest victory in history. We're going to make America great again."