TOI Correspondent from Washington: The rally was huge – and awesome. Madison Square Gardens was packed to the rafters with 20,000 people, with thousands more outside. The speeches were harsh, violent and in some cases racially charged. Elon Muskthe world’s richest man and MAGA’s social media megaphone, introduced Melania Trump and made a rare campaign rally appearance; and she in turn introduced her husband, Donald Trump. For STOMACH faithfully, the rally was a celebration of unity, the energy indicative of imminent victory.
For many liberals, Democrats, and even moderate Republicans, it was one neo-nazi gathering, eerily reminiscent of a demonstration in 1939 when more than 20,000 supporters of Adolf Hitler gathered at MSG for a so-called pro-America rally. Trump’s own niece, Mary Trump, a fierce critic of the MAGA supremo, posted photos of the 1939 and 2024 meetings side-by-side at X and wondered: “So, we’re really doing this again. Eyes wide open.” Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz noted, “There is a direct parallel to a large rally that took place in the mid-1930s at Madison Square Garden… And don’t think for a second that he doesn’t know exactly what they’re doing there.”
Liberal media channels ran footage of the two events simultaneously. Other critics called it a “freak show,” “a total embarrassment to the United States” and a “hate rally.” Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Republican Sen. John McCain, wondered, “I actually think this rally might backfire. . . . This is guts on steroids.”

MAGA principals pushed back, scoffing at the comparison, pointing out that the rally included the group “Jews for Trump,” and blacks, Latinos and Hindus (including Trump acolyte Vivek Ramaswamy) spoke at the event. They pointed to a Star of David, a symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism, draped inside the auditorium. Elon Musk posted a meme on X that read “If he’s Hitler why didn’t he do Hitler things in the first term?”
Just because he didn’t do it in the first term doesn’t mean he won’t in the second, countered Liberals, arguing that he is now emboldened by the support he has received for proposals such as internment camps, mass incarceration and the use of Alien The Enemies Act of 1798, a law created in the early years of the Republic when women and blacks had no right to vote. Trump himself stepped up his rhetoric, talking about “an eye for an eye” (referring to tariffs) and laughing about a journalist critic being (metaphorically) “chopped off” by his supporter at fake news NBC.
A few hours after the event, Elon Musk posted a photo of a black MAGA cap with the words MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Critics noted that it used the Gothic-Fraktur typeface favored in Nazi Germany. “This font … is a tribute to Nazi letters. They don’t hide their Nazi love anymore,” said one post on X, among several that raised alarm.