BY MOSHE HILL OPINION COLUMNS OCTOBER 30 2024
In the final week of the campaign, Former President Donald Trump decided to have the biggest rally at the most famous arena in the largest city in the country. For some reason, people are very confused by this. People on the Right were confused because, by all available data, Trump is not going to win New York. People on the Left were confused because, by all available data, Trump is not going to win New York. The Right reacted by attending the rally and being genuinely impressed that Trump would go to an unfriendly city. The Left reacted by calling Trump a Nazi.
Calling Republicans “Nazi” is not a new trick for the Democrats, and it’s certainly not new for them to do it to Trump. It is legitimately a pathetic lack of imagination on their part to not come up with new insults or tactics, and it’s a sad state of our country that the name-calling actually works. It minimizes the horrors of the Holocaust and is a disgusting slur to level on someone who is not actively rounding up and exterminating millions of people.
A column by Daniel Greenfield lists all the times that Democrats called Republicans “Nazi” or “Hitler.” Vice President Hubert Humphrey said, “If the British had not fought in 1940, Hitler would have been in London; and if Democrats do not fight in 1968, Nixon will be in the White House.” They said the same about Barry Goldwater. During the Reagan years, they said it about the President, Oliver North, and anyone else they could find. Kurt Vonnegut said of George W. Bush, “The only difference between Bush and Hitler is that Hitler was elected.” The comparison was also made by Democratic Senator Robert Byrd, a former Klansman.
It should be of no surprise, then, that they do the same to Trump. Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden made the Democrats go on unhinged rants and raves. Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Walz said, “Donald Trump’s got this big rally going at Madison Square Garden. There’s a direct parallel to a big rally that happened in the mid-1930s at Madison Square Garden. And don’t think that he doesn’t know for one second exactly what they’re doing there.” Hillary Clinton claimed that Trump “is actually reenacting the Madison Square Garden rally in 1939.” Former US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice claimed, “These people are dangerous. Donald Trump hugs dictators. He’s about to have a rally reminiscent of 1939 cheering on Nazi Germany.” The Democrats projected the phrase “Trump Praised Hitler” on the side of the building during the rally. MSNBC sliced images of the 1939 Nazi rally in their coverage of the event.
No one bothered to look into the history of political rallies at Madison Square Garden. The Democratic National Convention took place there in 1976, 1980, and 1992. Democrats like John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Gerald Ford, and Bill Clinton all took the stage there. The notion that Trump chose the location not because it’s the most famous arena in the country but rather because there was another political rally there 85 years ago is absurd on its face.
But like any self-fulfilling prophecy, the media and Democrats jumped on any available opportunity to prove that this rally was as hate-filled, racist, and fascistic as they promised it would be. Their best opportunity came from a comedian who spoke well before any politicians got on stage. The joke by comedian Kill Tony landed with a thud; even he remarked how bad it failed, and then he moved on. The Left, however, loved it, and immediately went to work spreading it as far and wide as possible to try to claim that this was what the rally was all about. (Of course, while they pretend to be super-offended at a joke about Puerto Rico, they ignored a joke George Lopez made the previous day about Mexicans because it was at a Tim Walz rally.)
AOC referred to it as a “hate rally,” which was echoed by MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. A CNN host was practically in tears talking about it. Headlines screamed, “Carnival of Grievances, Misogyny and Racism” (The New York Times), “Trump rally speakers lob racist insults, call Puerto Rico ‘island of garbage’” (Washington Post), and “RACIST RALLY” (Racist Rally).
So, what actually happened at the rally? A lot, actually. Nearly 100,000 people showed up, but only 15,000 got into the Garden. Nearly 80,000 waited outside during the speeches. Speakers from Dr. Phil to Vivek Ramaswamy to Mike Johnson to J.D. Vance were brought in to complement the New York natives like Sid Rosenberg and Rudy Giuliani. Trump unveiled a new policy proposal: a tax credit for those taking care of elderly or infirmed family members. All in all, it was a significant rally, given its time and location, but nothing that would require the blowback it has received.
Which means only one thing: Democrats are scared. They all see the same polls everyone else has and even their own internals. They know that Trump is, at this moment, poised for victory. So, they are using every tool in their arsenal to bully Trump voters or scare their potential voters. At the same time that they do that, they accuse Trump of being divisive and fearmongering. It is maddening and mind-boggling how they continue to get away with these childish and pathetic tactics. Next week, we’ll see if they did.
Don’t forget to vote by November 5: Row B and NO on the ballot proposals.
Moshe Hill is a political analyst and columnist. His work can be found at www.aHillwithaView.com and on X at @HillWithView.
