From the Liveblog of
Monday, October 28, 2024
Trump tells New York rally Muslims just want peace, touts support
Republican US presidential nominee Donald Trump, wrapping up a long address to a Manhattan rally, speaks glowingly of his time campaigning with Muslim imams in Michigan a day earlier.
Trump claims polls in the state show him performing much better among the Muslim community than Democrat Kamala Harris, referring to support he has seen from Arab-Americans thanks to his backing for ceasefires in the Middle East.
“They just want peace, they want to have peace, and it’s great,” he says at Madison Square Garden.
Earlier in the rally, though, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani claimed that “the Palestinians are taught to kill us at 2-years-old.”
Noting support from Jews and other minority communities, Trump claims the GOP “has really become the party of inclusion.”
On foreign policy, he indicates that he will be more stingy with defense aid for allies, pitching his “America First” ideology.
“I’ll tell our friends… that it’s about time we take care of ourselves,” he says to loud cheers.
Recent polls have shown Trump with a slight advantage among Arab-Americans, with many of them seeing the Republican as more likely than Harris to quickly end Israel’s wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“I will stop the chaos in the Middle East and prevent World War III from happening,” Trump tells the crowd.
Earlier, other speakers at the rally pushed back against claims from Democrats that the campaign event was reminiscent of a pro-Nazi rally at the Garden in February 1939.
“Hey guys, they’re now scrambling and trying to call us Nazis and fascists,” said Alina Habba, one of Trump’s attorneys, who draped a sparkly “MAGA” jacket over the lectern as she spoke. “And you know what they’re claiming, guys? It’s very scary. They’re claiming we’re going to go after them and try and put them in jail. Well, ain’t that rich?”
Former wrestling entertainer Hulk Hogan also weighed in, offering in his characteristic raspy growl: “I don’t see no stinkin’ Nazis in here.”
AP contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.