Former President Donald Trump is set to take the stage at Madison Square Garden in deep blue New York City, in a highly-anticipated rally that supporters are calling “iconic.”
“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 Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik told Fox News Digital from inside Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
Trump is expected to take the stage after 5 p.m. on Sunday evening, where supporters began gathering on Saturday in anticipation of the event. Trump had teased for months that he would hold a rally at Madison Square Garden and officially announced the event earlier in October.
“We just rented Madison Square Garden. We’re going to make a play. We’re going to make a play for New York. Hasn’t been done in a long time. It hasn’t been done in many decades,” Trump said during a Pennsylvania rally earlier this month. New York last voted for a Republican president in 1984 during President Ronald Reagan’s landslide victory, when he only lost the state of Minnesota.
TRUMP PREPS FOR MASSIVE CAMPAIGN RALLY SUNDAY AT NEW YORK CITY’S MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES – OCTOBER 27: Police teams take security measures as Trump supporters gather outside Madison Square Garden ahead of Donald Trump rally in New York, United States on October 27, 2024. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
Stefanik told Fox Digital that Trump could win the massive state, saying Vice President Kamala Harris is underperforming with voters in New York swing districts.
“I do think that President Trump can make history and win New York, and here’s why. If you look at Kamala Harris’s performance, she is underperforming Joe Biden in every single swing district in New York City. She will be the lowest performing Democrat nominee for president since the 1980s. President Trump has historic support among growing demographic groups, African American voters, Hispanic voters, Jewish voters, working class voters. So this is an America First movement that works for all Americans and I think that New York could make history on Election Day.”
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The rally is first-come, first-serve, and sold out within hours of being announced. Madison Square Garden has a capacity of 19,500 people.
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES – OCTOBER 27: Trump supporters gather outside Madison Square Garden ahead of Donald Trump rally in New York, United States on October 27, 2024. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
Fox Digital spoke to attendees gathered outside the arena, who relayed 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 can win New York, “but we’ll try!”
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Another rally-goer named Anas Shuaib said that on Nov. 5 voters will tell Harris: “You’re fired.”
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES – OCTOBER 27: Trump supporters gather outside Madison Square Garden ahead of Donald Trump rally in New York, United States on October 27, 2024. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
“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.”
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“I want Kamala to know, you’re fired,” he continued.
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Stefanik added in her comment to Fox Digital that the rally is a testament to his support nationwide.
“President Trump has talked with me about this for the past four years, so I’m so glad that this is happening. This is a real testament to so much support that he has, not only in the state of New York, but across the country.”
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.