October 27, 2024 was a bright and clear day in New York City. There was not a cloud in the sky as the crowds gathered for Donald Trump’s rally planned for later that evening at Madison Square Garden. The crowd was there to see Trump speak in the sold-out sports stadium that holds just shy of 20,000, the “world’s most famous arena” as it bills itself. And those who did not have tickets seemed more than happy to just be there among those on their side of the political divide and watch what happened inside on screens outside the arena.
I arrived around noon, hours before Trump was set to speak at 5:00PM. And I was by no means the first person there. The line already wrapped around the block, from the arena up 8th Avenue to 34th street, where it stretched down the block back to the entrance to Penn Station. The surrounding blocks were closed off, and full of others watching and waiting. The police cordons made it hard to move through the area so I stuck mainly along 8th Avenue.
New York City is deep blue, in a reliably blue state. And this rally was not about to change that. There are pockets of Trump supporters in the five boroughs, and the surrounding suburbs, but they are outnumbered by Democrats in the state. But Trump, his list of speakers, and his fans came anyway.
The Trump-supporting crowd seemed delighted to find themselves in hostile territory a mere 9 days before the Presidential Election, with their candidate’s picture glowing from the giant screen on the side of the building. With them came a plethora of Trump merchandise sellers, ironically mostly Black and Brown compared to the mainly white rally goers. They had for sale everything from shirts and hats to flags and bobble heads. Business seemed brisk among those waiting in line. And no matter where you looked, it was a sea of the Red Trump hats that are normally not seen very often in the city. Donald Trump’s rally at New York City’s Madison Square Garden was a sold-out dystopian carnival for his supporters.
Along with the Trump supporters came a contingent of protestors, from all backgrounds and walks of life. Bearing their own signs, combined with chants and music, they made their stance against Trump and his supporters heard. One group was situated mainly across 8th Avenue from the crowds waiting to get into the rally on 33rd Street, while a large group made themselves at home on the steps of the Moynihan Train Hall immediately across from Madison Square Garden.
The two sides did not mix much, being separated by both 8th Avenue, and the numerous police officers there to keep order. Occasionally someone from one side or the other would wander over to the opposing side, trying to get a rise out of their political opposites. Some of Trump supporters clearly took joy in carrying their flags and signs in front of the protesters in front of the train hall and getting booed and shouted at for doing so. They would smile and laugh as they did so, like children getting away with something outside of the line of sight of their parents.
A few of the Trump supporters, as they passed, would also call out “fake news” or “enemy of the people” at me and any of the other journalists in ear shot. And there were a few more explicit threats made, mainly about what would happen after the election to those protesting Trump. And as was pointed out by another photographer who I know, those are the most unnerving because you can’t tell in the moment if words are just words to taunt, or they mean what they say. The rhetoric mimics the dark, dystopian and sometimes violent language of Trump himself, and his perceived grievances against anyone and everyone who he feels has slighted him.
Trump portrays himself as the only one who can fight back against the unnamed “they” or “the enemy within” who actively work against himself and his supporters and save America. And those supporters are behind him 100% in an almost cult-like fashion, visible in their matching baseball caps marking them as members of the club. Meanwhile, those who protest him and what he stands for see him as a bully, a convicted felon, and a want to be dictator who is actively working to destroy all that makes America a country of freedom.
America is deeply divided, just like those who came to New York City that day. The rally at Madison Square Garden, and what was said inside that night may prove itself to be a pivotal moment in this election. Only time will tell.
