Donald Trump reveled in what advisers called his happy place at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, as he enveloped himself in the adulation ahead of the final stretch of campaigning until the November election.
The capacity rally at the Garden – something Trump had talked about for years – was essentially a reboot of the Republican national convention this summer, widely seen as Trump’s most confident moment.
Trump had the more polished speakers from the convention double down on crude and xenophobic rhetoric, while he had Hulk Hogan rip his shirt on stage again, and got Melania Trump to appear again.
The rally was a safe space for Trump and the campaign to lean into their most caustic impulses: speakers falsely saying Kamala Harris allowed migrants to “rape and kill” Americans or questioning whether Harris was Black or “Samoan-Malaysian”.
There was nothing about trying to broaden his base. The rhetoric of Trump and his speakers was designed to give the crowd what they wanted to hear, doubling down on immigration rhetoric which Trump thinks his supporters love to hear the most.
That disinterest to reach undecided voters by moderating the rhetoric also underscored the confidence of the Trump team with fewer than nine days until the election – they have long seen their path to victory as juicing turnout.
The Trump team in recent days have in hushed whispers suggested privately they might even get close to winning the popular vote, which Trump lost in 2016, describing him as a comeback story with momentum on his side.
Here are the key takeaways from perhaps Trump’s final major rally before election day:
1. Racist and crude remarks
Trump’s warm-up speakers appeared to feel particularly emboldened to take shots at Latinos and African Americans at the rally, in an apparent attempt to copy the former president.
From the very first speaker, Tony Hinchcliffe, the host of the Kill Tony podcast, there was a push to stoke racial animus. Latinos “love making babies … there’s no pulling out. They come inside, just like they do to our country.”
He added: “There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
The radio host Sid Rosenberg leaned into attacking Democrats, using ad hominem slurs to describe Hillary Clinton – a villain to Trump supporters who lapped it up.
“Hillary Clinton. What a sick son of a bitch. The whole fucking party. A bunch of degenerates. Lowlives, Jew-haters and lowlives. Every one of ‘em. Every one of ‘em,” Rosenberg said.
And Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host who lost his prime time perch in the wake of the network getting sued for defamation over promulgating false 2020 election fraud claims, went after Kamala Harris.
“As the first Samoan Malaysian low IQ, former California prosecutor to ever be elected president,” Carlson falsely said in a mocking tone of Harris’s racial background. “No, she’s not impressive.”
2. Anti-immigration rhetoric
Trump himself doubled down on his anti-immigration rhetoric, promising to pursue the death penalty for migrants who kill an American and that he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
Trump’s actual border plans are filled with rhetoric but light on details. For instance, he has pledged mass deportations without saying how it would logistically happen or how it would be funded. The Alien Enemies Act allows for summary deportations of people from countries with which the US is at war, that have invaded the country or have engaged in “predatory incursions” – but it requires a link to actions by a foreign government.
But Trump has noted to advisers his crowds seem most energized when he talks about deporting illegal immigrants, and his speech repeatedly veered back to immigration even as he touched on other campaign messaging.
3. Light on economic agenda
Trump kept himself disciplined enough to throw out a new economic promise as he competes with Harris to increase disposable incomes for Americans: to introduce a new tax credit for family caregivers.
He also promised to cut energy prices in half if he was re-elected and to lower corporate tax rates for businesses.
Trump was again light on details for his economic agenda, given changes to the tax code would require the approval of Congress and it is unclear whether Republicans will retain control of the House or take the Senate majority.