Politics
Never-Trumpers love to say the former president’s movement is as divisive as they come. But is it?
A highly consequential election is rapidly approaching, and those on both the right and the left are feeling the heat. As the candidates begin to wrap up their 2024 election campaigns, tensions seem to have hit an all time high.
But on Sunday night, at the historic Madison Square Garden in New York City, unity prevailed.
The sun was out and the air was perfectly crisp as I joined the already winding line at 10:30am. Spirits were high among the thousands of supporters assembled. Folks who never met before were singing “God Bless America” and “God Bless the USA” wrapped in Trump/Vance flags. Typical chants of “USA! USA! USA!” and “Fight! Fight! Fight!” broke out frequently.
It was surreal to see people wearing MAGA merch in the middle of New York. I have lived in this city my whole life and can count on one hand the number of times I have seen someone wear a MAGA hat in public.
What surprised me most, however, was the amount of young people around me—I counted at least a dozen teenagers in my direct vicinity, some unaccompanied by their parents, apparently having chosen to spend their Sunday at a Trump rally with their friends (although many of them looked like they were too young to even vote).
A Jewish man from Brooklyn joked to me about their avant garde Trump hats adorned with a tuft of orange hair, but noted, “Trump’s hair isn’t orange, it’s white! His face is orange!”
I asked him what he thought of the recent news coverage calling Trump’s MSG appearance a Nazi rally. “This is all fake news. Look at how everybody is getting along,” he said.
He continued, “The Jewish people I know love Trump, because with Trump, we know we will have peace. We won’t have war in the Middle East. We won’t have war. Period.” He lamented, “The Middle East is a tinderbox. This never would have happened with Trump.”
A black man from Queens who brought his young son and daughter agreed with him, noting that the most important thing to think about in this election is who can bring peace to the nation and to the world.
I asked him what made him bring his children with him to the rally: “I came here to show my support for Donald Trump. My kids need to know that the man is fighting for their futures. This is really important to me.”
I also asked him what he thinks of the left’s accusations that Trump is racist. “Donald Trump doesn’t care about who you are or where you’re from. He just cares that you’re American,” he said emphatically.
I bumped into a group of finance bros from Wall Street, one of whom I actually went to college with. They told me that being a Trump supporter in New York City is less of a taboo now than ever before. “We talk about the big guy in the office all the time,” one of them said. “Most people actually like him. The people who don’t [mess] with him even seem to not hate him as much anymore.”
I asked what their favorite quality about Trump was. “Besides from him being a badass? He actually cares about us and wants the best for us. Kamala doesn’t want that.”
The speakers headlining the rally seemed to be on the same page. Vivek Ramaswamy, Tulsi Gabbard, and Tucker Carlson emphasized how a Trump presidency will bring about a restoration of peace.
Carlson also spoke to Trump’s personal appeal saying, “The first reason that people like Donald Trump is because he likes them. That’s why. And real affection is something you can’t fake.”
He continued, “People know the country has been taken over by a leadership class that actually despises them… really hates them to the point that it’s trying to replace them.”
“They know someone who actually has affection for them, and that’s Donald Trump,” he concluded.
Dr. Phil McGraw gave a speech calling for an end to bullying others for their political beliefs. “When you attack a citizen, and you use the power of the Internet, you use mob mentality, you incite people to gang up and cause boycotts, then it is beyond ugly,” he said. “And that is what is happening in this country right now, and that is not OK.”
I couldn’t help but notice a substantial lack of Trump’s notorious “Make America Great Again” signs at the rally. Instead, the campaign handed out signs emblazoned with the words, “Dream Big, Again.” This message—a call for Americans to look ahead, excited for the future—is exactly what Kamala Harris and her supporters do not want people to think about. But it’s too late.
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“This is the city where I was born and raised, and this is the town that taught me that Americans can do anything,” Trump declared in his speech. “No matter our differences, when we work together, there is nothing we cannot achieve.”
Americans are tired of living in survival mode. Raging wars, a crippled economy, an immigration crisis, a growing chasm of political division, and rapid inflation have made Americans realize that they want joy again, they want unity again, and they want to dream again.
Standing in such a significant arena, surrounded by a sea of red hats and adoring, cheering Trump fans, I couldn’t help but get emotional about how historic this moment in time is for our country. I was 14 years old when Trump was elected president and have, like many of his other supporters, been forced to deal with the vitriol, insults, and hatred of the left over the past eight years. It has often been tiresome to stand up for my own beliefs in the face of such fierce adversity. But watching Trump on that glorious stage at Madison Square Garden reminded me—reminded all Americans—of what lies ahead with a Trump presidency: hope. And that is always worth fighting for.