Stephen Colbert dumps on Trump's Madison Square Garden rally plans
By Matt Moore
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is late-night TV's go-to place for reaction to Donald Trump's rallies. But the ex-president's plan to hold an event at Madison Square Garden has Stephen Colbert's monologue landing punchlines before the rally even starts.
Trump plans to hold an event at New York City's famed Madison Square Garden despite New York being very much not a swing state. It's an odd decision with less than two weeks until the election, especially when factoring how badly Trump has lost the state in the past two elections. New York may be Trump's home state, but it's clear the voters there don't support him.
So why hold a rally at Madison Square Garden? Stephen Colbert tried to figure that out during his monologue on Thursday night.
"So what the hell is Trump thinking campaigning in New York?" Colbert asked. "'They told me I was behind in Wisconsin,'" he said as Trump, "'so I'm rallying in Madison ... Square Garden. After that, I'll hit Philadelphia ... Cream Cheese.""
Colbert then cited reports that indicate the MSG rally isn't about winning or losing the election. According to sources, Trump has been obsessed with holding an event at the venue for years.
But Stephen Colbert suggested there be a more nefarious reason for why Trump wants center stage at Madison Square Garden. The Late Show host gave a history lesson, noting that MSG held a pro-Nazi rally in 1939. The connection is highlighted even more in light of reports that Trump praised Hitler and his generals.
The more realistic reason (hopefully) is that Donald Trump wants to say he filled one of the most iconic venues in the world. Given what Colbert and others have noted about Trump's crowd size obsession, it's no surprise that the ex-president wants to play MSG.
It won't do anything to change the election outcome in New York. But if Trump is this excited to play Madison Square Garden, then it should be an over-the-top rally ... just the kind of event that Stephen Colbert loves to rain all over.