Trump says insult-riddled Madison Square Garden rally was a ‘lovefest'

Donald Trump on Tuesday called his rally at Madison Square Garden, an event marked by crude and racist insults by several speakers, a “lovefest.”

That’s a term the former president also has used to reference the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump noted that “there’s never been an event so beautiful” as his Sunday night rally in his hometown of New York City. That’s despite criticism from Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign and many who watched — including Republicans — about racist comments made targeting Latinos, Black people, Jews and Palestinians, along with sexist insults directed at Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s set at the rally, in which he joked that Puerto Rico was a “floating island of garbage,” stirred particular anger given the electoral importance of Puerto Ricans who live in Pennsylvania and other key swing states. The Trump campaign took the rare step of distancing itself from Hinchcliffe’s joke about Puerto Rico but not other comments.

Trump didn’t address Hinchcliffe’s joke on Tuesday at Mar-a-Lago. But he ripped critics who have pointed out that Madison Square Garden was host to a gathering of Nazis in 1939.

Several of the speakers on Sunday referenced that event, including former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, who said, “I don’t see no stinkin’ Nazis in here.”

“Nobody’s ever had love like that,” Trump said, of the hourslong Sunday event that featured speakers including some of his adult children, wife Melania and high-level surrogates and supporters including TV psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. “It was really love for our country.”