Trump says vulgar New York rally was a "love fest"
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Former President Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
A subdued former President Trump said Tuesday his Madison Square Garden rally that was filled with vulgar speeches was really a MAGA "love fest."
Driving the news: Trump's effort to recast the Sunday rally in which several speakers delivered racist, sexist remarks came after he railed against Vice President Harris and other Democrats while repeating a barrage of false claims about election fraud, immigration, the economy and foreign policy.
- Trump's remarks at Mar-a-Lago — billed as a prebuttal to Harris' "closing argument" speech later Tuesday — came as his campaign continues to try to stem the fallout from his rally in New York, where a comedian compared Puerto Rico to "floating island of garbage."
- That comment — and remarks about Harris, African Americans, Latinos, Hillary Clinton and others throughout the night — angered many Latino groups and others across the nation, becoming a drag on Trump's campaign a week before the election.
Zoom in: Trump's appearance on Tuesday was classic Trump. There was no apology; instead he unleashed attacks on his political enemies and then tried to reframe the New York rally as a success.
- He didn't directly acknowledge the fallout from the event at Madison Square Garden, but said: "The love in that room, it was breathtaking."
- The ex-president also rejected comparisons being made between Sunday's rally and the 1939 pro-Nazi gathering in the same venue. "How terrible to say," he said.
Between the lines: Earlier Tuesday, Trump said he doesn't know comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who made the comment about Puerto Rico.
- "I don't know him, someone put him up there. I don't know who he is," Trump told ABC News' Rachel Scott.
The big picture: Trump started the event, which was delayed by more than an hour, by falsely suggesting that there have been instances of voter fraud during early voting in Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state.
- He accused Harris of running "a campaign of absolute hate" and zeroed in on immigration, a central issue of his.
- He said that if he's elected he will seize "the assets of the criminal gangs and drug cartels ... and we will use those assets to create a compensation fund to provide restitution for the victims of migrant crime."
Much of Tuesday's event featured false refrains from Trump about foreign policy, immigration and the economy.
- He called the many signs of an improving economy "fake" and suggested that he should get credit for the soaring stock market.
- He also claimed the market is doing well not because the Biden administration's policies are working, but because of expectations that Trump will be re-elected.
Go deeper: Trump's vulgar rally becomes a drag on his campaign
