Trump supporters outside Madison Square Garden say ‘exhilarating’ rally shows NY is in play

MANHATTAN, N.Y. – Ardent supporters of former President Trump say Sunday’s campaign rally at Madison Square Garden was a bold statement that their movement is penetrating deep blue areas like New York City.

“Donald Trump is in play in every state,” Pennsylvania resident John Nolan told Fox News Digital outside the famed arena ahead of the rally. “The guy pulls numbers no matter where he is. I mean, people drove from all over to get here and his supporters are here.” 

“Absolutely,” Westchester, New York, 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 said, “We’ll try!”

While New York is home to multiple competitive U.S. House races, Republicans are not widely expected to win the state in the presidential race. It has gone Democratic each presidential election since Ronald Reagan won it for the GOP in 1984. 

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The mood outside the famed arena was at fever pitch as droves of supporters descended on the Big Apple’s streets and waited anxiously to see if they would gain entry to the 19,500-seat venue. Police say many were turned away, with Donald Trump Jr. claiming that nearly 200,000 people tried to gain access to the rally, which featured a handful of high-profile speakers ahead of Trump’s remarks, including former first lady Melania Trump, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White.

Melissa Elsner and Luke Ordino traveled from New Jersey and said they weren’t surprised at the size of the huge crowds that descended on “The Worlds’ Most Famous Arena.”

“No, absolutely not, because we are the majority, even though the news often tries to tell us we are not,” Elsner said, adding that the economy, illegal immigration and education are her top three issues going into this election. 

“Come on, Donald Trump can pull off anything in New York,” Elsner added. One woman, Barabara Walsh, said she even traveled from Ireland to attend the much-anticipated event.

A group of young Jewish supporters were in boisterous form in front of the stadium’s main entrance as they waited in line. “USA, USA, USA,” they chanted, jumping up and down and waving an Israeli flag. 

“We’re here because we got to Make America Great Again, we need Trump back in the house to bring the hostages back… we need a good economy, no more wars… Kamala Harris keeps on flip-flopping,” 17-year-old Tzvi Schoch said. 

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“Everybody was better… under Donald J. Trump than they are now, inflation is sky high, under Trump it was 1.9%. We need Trump back in office, we need the wall built, we need the illegal aliens that are taking our taxpayer money out of the country. We need a president that’s strong… and not be like Biden, like Harris. Sometimes peace comes through strength.”

“Trump protects the Jews,” yelled fellow 17-year-old Mendel Steigman, who said he and his friends have been victims of antisemitic attacks and insists Trump is a friend of Israel.

Another animated rally-goer named Anas Shuaib, a Palestinian Muslim-American who has been living in America for 25 years, said that on Nov. 5 voters will tell Harris, “You’re fired, you’re fired, you’re fired.”

“The Arabs are voting for Trump!” Shuaib said. “When Trump becomes president, there’s going to be peace, there’s going to be prosperity and America first! He’s going to end the war in the Middle East and he’s going to throw you out of the White House.”

Latin American New Yorker Belio Martinez was holding a poster with Trump’s now infamous mugshot with “Never Surrender” written on it. He said the various court cases against the 45th president “solidified” his support for Trump. 

The rally ended just after 8:30 p.m. with the crowd treated to a rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.”

Outside, New York City residents Maria Coletta and Rhonda Gottlieb said the rally was their first and it did not disappoint.

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“The energy of the crowd, the speakers, the issues that were addressed, it was absolutely exhilarating,” Gottlieb said, proudly holding a “Trump-Vance” poster. 

“I think the symbolism of it is just fantastic because New York City is a blue city and him coming in and having such a turnout, I mean it was packed, it was filled and there were thousands outside. I think a lot of the blue cities are becoming more and more red because at a certain point the extremism of the Democrats – the defund the police, the transgender[ism] – all of the issues just push normal common sensical people to the right.”

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Gottlieb said she was once a “left-wing person,” but many years of studying issues like racial and sexual politics moved her to the right. 

Edward X. Young said he has been to 102 Trump rallies and Sunday’s was very important because Trump was loved by nearly everyone in the city before he got into politics, but the deep blue city turned against him.  

Young, who lived in the Big Apple from 1983 to 1990 and now resides in New Jersey, said the rally showed that New Yorkers are back in the former president’s corner. 

“Trump was New York City’s favorite son, he was beloved. In the last election cycle, there was not even a rally in the city… but he came back big time,” said Young, who said he met his fiancé at a Trump rally. 

“Four or five years ago if I wore MAGA gear around the Bronx I‘d get my butt kicked, but no, the local people love him and it’s obvious why… it’s because the Democrats, they went too far,” Young said, noting that it has become harder for working-class people in the city to survive. 

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J Mellz, a musician from New York City who has lived in Brooklyn and Queens, said Trump is making big gains among Blacks, Latinos and other minorities. 

“I feel it was enthusiastic, I feel it was something that New York needed, I feel it is something that the media is not going to show to the full extent, but it shows how united New York is,” Mellz said. 

“It showed that it’s time for a change here, and I think we are tired of the people running and controlling the area. I think we are looking forward to something different.”

Fox News’ Emma Colton and Mitch Picasso contributed to this report.