Former president Donald Trump and his allies have long used racist tropes, anti-immigrant fears and other offensive tactics to drum up support from their base while antagonizing those targeted by this rhetoric. But Trump’s Sunday rally at New York City’s Madison Square Garden took the campaign to new lows for racial dog whistling and outright bigoted comments, living up to the label of ‘Nazi rally’ that had been placed on the event.

Fallout from comedian’s Puerto Rico insult and Dr. Phil’s DEI comment

Even before Sunday’s events, Trump has been increasingly criticized for his racist and fascist language, and many compared his rally to a 1939 event by the American Nazi Party held at Madison Square Garden in 1939. For many, the Trump event lived up to the troubling hype with a slew of racism and conspiracy theories being touted by the former president and his guests. Perhaps the most notorious moment of the event came when conservative comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who spewed several offensive “jokes” about Black people, Latinos, Palestinians and Jewish people, insulted Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” The remark drew intense backlash across social media and spurred a number of Puerto Rican pop stars like Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny and Ricky Martin to throw their support behind Kamala Harris.

Dr. Phil drew criticism for his remarks, including his comments that “this country was built on hard work … Not on DEI.”

The NAACP pointed out in a tweet that the “hard work” that built the United States was “on the backs of Black, Brown, and Immigrants from all across this WORLD,” many of whom were enslaved.

Others pointed out that he owes his success to the support that Oprah gave him.

Trump and others trot out insults and conspiracy theories

Businessman and celebrity Grant Cardone referred to Harris as having “pimp handlers” and told the audience that “we need to slaughter these other people,” referring to Democrats.

David Rem referred to Harris as “the devil” and “the anti-Christ.”

When Trump finally took the stage, he trotted out various conspiracy theories and race-baiting accusations from the past, such as claiming that prisoners from Congo were pouring into the United States and that immigrants had overtaken Times Square in New York City. He also pointed toward the 1790s — an era where slavery was still legal in the United States — as an era of “law and order.”

Overall, the rally painted a picture of a Trump campaign eager to appeal to the worst aspects of its supporters by demonizing Harris and people of color. The backlash to the event has been severe, and the next week will demonstrate whether or not this event ends up shifting voters as they decide who will be the next president of the United States.

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