Fact-check: Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally in New York City
Al Jazeera
Trump rallied his MAGA troops with angry words about immigration and mocked Kamala Harris. We fact check the claims he made.
Former President Donald Trump hammered home an anti-immigration theme in his closing argument pitch to voters on October 27 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
But before Trump spoke, the event made headlines for a series of racist jokes by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. He called Puerto Rico an “island of garbage” and disparaged Black Americans, Latinos and Jewish people. Democrats and at least two Florida Republicans, including Senator Rick Scott, swiftly condemned Hinchcliffe’s remarks about Puerto Rico.
“This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” Danielle Alvarez, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign said in a statement after the rally addressing the comedian’s comment about Puerto Rico.
At the rally, Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, said he presided over the most secure border in United States history (he did not), that the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not deliver hurricane relief because the government spent its money bringing immigrants into the country illegally (it did not) and that foreign nations were emptying their prisons and sending convicts to the US (they are not).
A gaggle of speakers preceded Trump, including Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance, Trump’s sons Eric and Don Jr, Trump’s wife, Melania, his daughter-in-law and Republican National Committee co-Chair Lara Trump, US House Speaker Mike Johnson, Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, entrepreneur Elon Musk and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
