As Madison Square Garden overflowed beyond its 20,000 audience capacity into the side streets, nearly 75,000 Trump supporters cheered the new alliance that former President Trump has built. Of course, there were a few old faces, like Rudy Guliani, but the stage was rocked by numerous stars whom the nation knew little about just four years ago.
On stage was Sen. JD Vance and Speaker Mike Johnson. Rep. Byron Donalds, whom we thought would be an excellent House leader, spoke. Vivek Ramaswamy, a Trump opponent for the 2024 nomination but a convert to the MAGA movement since withdrawing from the race, was his usual confident self.
Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, herself a candidate for the 2020 Democratic race, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ran this year for the Democratic nomination but abandoned it to convert to an Independent and then supported Trump, were there, entertaining the fawning crowd. Tucker Carlson and Elon Musk (the newest rockstar converts to the MAGA movement) electrified the Garden.
The surreal event happened in the heart of New York City, not far from Trump Tower, which the former President loves to call home, although he legally became a Florida resident in September 2019. Media outlets were shocked at how this pariah could command so much public support in a city whose political leaders hate him.
During the last three years, the ultra-liberal city has deployed numerous powers provided by State and local laws to inflict enormous damage to Trump and his image. A New York judge imposed a $354.9 million penalty against Trump and his companies for inflating his financial statements to obtain favorable loans and insurance rates. Additionally, he was barred from serving as an officer in any New York business for three years, which significantly impacted his real estate empire.
In April 2023, a partisan prosecutor charged Trump with 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records and forced him to return to the city to get fingerprinted. When a partisan jury found him guilty, Trump became the first former President to earn the infamy of a convicted felon.
As the huge rally in MSG unfolded, the media wanted to report something negative, so they caught on to a joke that comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made when he referred to Puerto Rico as "a floating island of garbage." Guilt by association is a clever tool employed by Trump haters. Although Trump had nothing to do with the joke, which bombed, going by how it didn't make anyone laugh, media outlets reported that the entire rally was racist and fascist. MSNBC said it reminded them of a 1939 Nazi event at the Garden. The Harris campaign tried to exploit the media hysteria by amplifying this message and reaching out to Puerto Rican leaders (the Commonwealth's residents are U.S. Citizens, but they cannot vote).
All the drama aside, the impressive takeaway is that Trump has indeed taken over the GOP and has the potential to change governance as we know it should he win. The transformation comes with risks, as a new set of checks and balances driven by social media, especially X, will kick in. The old set—Congress and the Courts—is too slow and ineffective for the MAGA movement.
Consider Elon Musk. As the savior of free speech who bought Twitter and created X, his social media platform has broken records for user engagement. Millions of Americans turn to X and TikTok to get updates about local, state, national, and international news. A 2-3 minute video clip posted by citizen journalists and accompanying commentary by thousands of users can provide context that no legacy media outlet can match and quickly turn viral.
When X users consume legacy media, they are shocked that the clip is not even shown or, when shown, has pronounced bias. Two media heavyweights, the Washington Post editorial board and the Los Angeles Times editorial board, announced that they would not endorse any candidate for President this cycle. The Post stated that it will never endorse anyone for President.
The X platform that has propelled Trump's rise is also a double-edged sword for the nascent MAGA movement. If Trump reneges on his commitments to place America First - for example, by striking a deal with Democrats on granting a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants - X would erupt in anger. If Musk or Tucker Carlson were to weigh in by turning against Trump, that would be a severe blow to the MAGA franchise. X, Musk, and Carlson can serve as a powerful check and balance to Trump's governance.
Or consider Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr., who have embraced Trump to promote their political futures (Gabbard could become JD Vance's running mate in 2028). If Trump reneges on his commitment to promote public health by not enacting significant reforms to U.S. health agencies, tackling chronic diseases, and limiting the pharmaceutical industry's influence, he could lose RFK Jr.'s support. If Trump were to engage in a forever war - a no-no for Gabbard - he could lose her support.
Should Trump win, America is on the cusp of a new age of governance that will rely on new checks and balances. While the Washington Uniparty will fight Trump every step of the way, he is likely to be more successful in a second term. [Trump regularly concedes that the constant infighting of established RINO types during his first term arrested his progress at every turn]. He has assembled a top-notch cast of new, young, vibrant leaders who see the benefit of Trump's vision of a MAGA America and, through it, a rise in their careers. Their unified support could neutralize Uniparty and media critics whose relevance is slowly eroding.
