In their home stretch of campaigns, Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris held rallies at Madison Square Garden in NYC and the Ellipse in Washington D.C., respectively, a week before Election Day.
Several reports have so far established that the iconic New York venue for Trump’s Sunday rally was at capacity to the point that thousands of interested people had to be turned away. Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung also told Newsweek via a statement, “Madison Square Garden was at capacity and, according to media reports, the number of people outside could have filled up a second Madison Square Garden easily.” The reported capacity for the sold-out event is 19,500, easily surpassing the standards set by other Trump rallies this year.
Read more | HT in US: Special Coverage of the American elections by Prashant Jha
Harris in Houston vs Trump at MSG
This past week, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris also led a rally in Houston, Texas, which similarly welcomed a massive turnout of rallygoers, with her campaign estimating that around 30,000 people attended the event. Coincidentally, what fuelled the neck-and-neck competition between the political rivals was that each hosted their election campaign in places where the other was known to have a stronger hold over the public. Additionally, both the MSG and Houston rallies were celebrity-packed festas. The former hosted several high-profile Trump supporters such as Elon Musk, UFC chief Dana White, conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, former WWE player Hulk Hogan and others. Meanwhile, Harris’ Houston rally saw legendary Texas native Beyonce and Willie Nelson in attendance as the sitting VP spoke about abortion rights.
{{/usCountry}}This past week, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris also led a rally in Houston, Texas, which similarly welcomed a massive turnout of rallygoers, with her campaign estimating that around 30,000 people attended the event. Coincidentally, what fuelled the neck-and-neck competition between the political rivals was that each hosted their election campaign in places where the other was known to have a stronger hold over the public. Additionally, both the MSG and Houston rallies were celebrity-packed festas. The former hosted several high-profile Trump supporters such as Elon Musk, UFC chief Dana White, conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, former WWE player Hulk Hogan and others. Meanwhile, Harris’ Houston rally saw legendary Texas native Beyonce and Willie Nelson in attendance as the sitting VP spoke about abortion rights.
{{/usCountry}}Also read | Trump tags an Indian to his pitch for North Carolina voters, his response is hilarious
Kamala Harris' Ellipse speech breaks both Trump's and her own previous record
On Tuesday night, Harris again took the stage at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C, for her closing campaign arguments. This also happened to be the same site where the Republican leader infamously addressed his supporters before the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
According to Newsweek, the VP’s latest political outing continued breaking records as her campaign’s rapid response director, Amma Moussa, wrote on X/Twitter, “OVER 75,000 people on the National Mall to watch Kamala Harris deliver her closing remarks.” Media reports consequentially added that the Ellipse event also hit the sold-out mark. Meanwhile, Trump’s Jan 6 rally at the venue is believed to have been attended by around 53,000 people before insurrectionists stormed the Capitol. Clearly, Harris won this round with a significantly bigger crowd. These numbers also broke her own previous record of around 30,000 people attending the Shell Energy Stadium event in Houston on Friday.
Read more | Catch all the newsmakers, detailed explainers and deep analysis of the US