By james art A firestorm of conservatives took to social media to criticize MSNBC for including footage from a 1939 Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden during its coverage of former President Donald Trump’s New York event over the weekend.
The left-leaning network likened Trump’s Sunday night rally to the German American Union’s Madison Square Garden event held on the eve of World War II, which rallied in support of the Nazi movement.
“But this jamboree that’s going on right now, you see it there on your screen, in that place is especially chilling because in 1939, more than 20,000 supporters of a different fascist leader, Adolf Hitler, packed the Garden for the so-called pro- America rally,” warned an MSNBC host as the network played footage of the 1,939 rally participants.
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Trump’s campaign event at Madison Square Garden took place just over a week before Election Day. A packed arena of thousands cheered as one of the rally’s speakers riffed on Harris’ campaign messages, touting the “joy” of New York. “Dream Big Again” chants flashed across giant screens as Trump courted voters in his hometown.
Conservatives were quick to defend the GOP leader’s rally against MSNBC’s framing of the event, claiming the network had reached a “new low” that was trying to “demonize millions of Americans.”
MSNBC just sunk to a new low, airing footage from 85 years ago of a pro-Nazi rally and directly comparing it to Trump’s rally tonight. This is more than disgusting and offensive – it’s a desperate attempt to push a false narrative and demonize millions of Americans. It’s a shame… pic.twitter.com/kJhfqdIoqR
— David Gokhshtein (@davidgokhshtein) October 28, 2024
The network’s decision to merge the footage came after days of accusations that Trump was a “fascist” and some outspoken comparisons of the former president to Hitler. Vice President Kamala Harris accused Trump of being a fascist, while her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), suggested there was a “direct parallel” between the 1939 rally and Trump’s Sunday night event. Other senior Democrats, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said Trump was trying to “recreate” the Nazi rally.
The backlash against MSNBC’s coverage Sunday night was immediate, as Republicans pointed to a diverse array of attendees, including a Holocaust survivor.
“Hey @MSNBC, that’s what you were doing on national TV, and that’s Jerry Wartsky, a Holocaust survivor, attending today’s rally. True colors. You owe that guy an apology. Not to mention the other Jews at the Madison rally. Whose anti-Semite?” one user asked.
hey @MSNBC that was what you were broadcasting on national television, and that is jerry wartsky, a holocaust survivor, who attended today’s rally. True colors. You owe that guy an apology. Not to mention the other Jews at the Madison rally. Whose antisemite? pic.twitter.com/GvSQdQkJph
— The Constitutionalist 🇺🇸 (@WeWillBeFree24) October 28, 2024
Jerry Wartsky, who was held in Auschwitz and survived one of the Nazi death marches, slammed Harris for describing Trump as a fascist.
“I know more about Hitler than Kamala will ever know in a thousand lifetimes. For her to accuse President Trump of being like Hitler is the worst thing I’ve heard in my 75 years of living in the United States,” he said in a recent Trump campaign video.
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“She owes my parents and everyone else who was killed by Hitler an apology for repeating this lie,” he continued.
hey @MSNBC that was what you were broadcasting on national television, and that is jerry wartsky, a holocaust survivor, who attended today’s rally. True colors. You owe that guy an apology. Not to mention the other Jews at the Madison rally. Whose antisemite? pic.twitter.com/GvSQdQkJph
— The Constitutionalist 🇺🇸 (@WeWillBeFree24) October 28, 2024
Madison Square Garden has been a popular destination for American politicians for nearly a century. Former Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt campaigned at the venue, and Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe famously sang “Happy Birthday” to former President John F. Kennedy when he held a celebration at Madison Square Garden in 1962. The New York venue also has been the site of numerous Democratic and Republican National Conventions.