By james art Trump supporters in New York are optimistic that the former president can win the heavily liberal state on Nov. 5.
Donald Trump is holding a rally at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan on Sunday night in an attempt to win over voters in the Big Apple.
But supporters lined up hours before his arrival don’t think a Trump victory in 2024 is impossible.
“I think it will be closer than ever. If he doesn’t take it, it’s going to be close,” Melissa Vitelli, 37, of Brooklyn, told DailyMail.com as she waited to enter The Garden.
The rally will feature a stacked lineup of speakers, including Elon Musk, UFC CEO Dana White, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., conservative media personality Tucker Carlson and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
“I think so.” [the election] will be closer than ever. If [Trump] don’t take it, it’s going to be close,” Melissa Vitelli, 37, of Brooklyn, told DailyMail.com as she waited to enter Sunday’s rally
New Yorkers who support Trump predict he has a shot at taking the liberal state, which has voted blue in every presidential election since 1988.
Some have questioned the seat choice with just over a week until Election Day, but pro-MAGA New Yorkers are confident Trump can pull through, even though the state has voted Democratic for president every single cycle since 1988 .
“I think in 2016, people said there’s no way Donald Trump is ever going to win the United States, it’s never going to happen. New York is in many ways a cultural mirror of what’s going on,” Michael Rydelek, 27, told DailyMail.com.
“And as crazy as winning in 2016 was, I think we’re looking at the same thing in 2024,” speculated the Rockland County native. “You have a lot of people in New York who are aware that something needs to change and are willing to move forward with that change. New York is a big part of that equation.
“People say why is Trump at Madison Square Garden? Well he’s playing for New York,” Rydelek added.
Another New Yorker said she thought Trump had a chance for another term after hearing people openly talk about voting for the former president when she went to early vote on Saturday.
“You have a lot of people in New York who are aware that something needs to change and are willing to move forward with that change. New York is a big part of that equation,” Michael Rydelek, 27, told DailyMail.com. “And as crazy as winning in 2016 was, I think we’re looking at the same thing in 2024.”
Thousands lined up outside Madison Square Garden on Sunday to enter the arena for Donald Trump’s rally just nine days before the 2024 election.
Gladys Pickett, 80, of Westchester, said she left her home at 7:30 a.m. to get to The Garden to see Trump speak just nine days before the 2024 election.
“My area is very liberal and the people I’m surrounded by are,” the Puerto Rican-American said. “Yesterday, when I went to vote, I was surprised to see the behavior of people waiting in line. And it was amazing to see people really talk openly about voting for Trump.
Vitelli said she even saw a shift in her Brooklyn neighborhood, even though a New York Times/Siena College poll released Saturday showed Brooklyn 60 percent for Harris and 33 percent for Trump.
Gladys Pickett, 80, of Westchester, said she heard people talking at early voting Saturday that they were voting for Donald Trump even in her heavily liberal neighborhood
“I live in a Hasidic Jewish neighborhood, Borough Park — they have Trump flags. They are relatively known for voting Democrat. And that’s it, it’s changed,” Vitelli said.
“It was actually very nice to see,” she continued. “And they understand that corruption runs deep.”
“There’s definitely more change,” Vitelli said of Brooklyn’s political leanings from 2016 to 2020 and then from 2020 to this year’s election.
“I think the media has a lot to do with it,” she added. “The more negative they are about it, the more it wakes people up. Like, well, he’s marked. And we feel as citizens that if he can be targeted, so can we.
Vitelli already voted for Trump on Saturday when early voting began in New York.