Former President Donald Trump, the leading GOP candidate for president in 2024, got a hero’s welcome alongside Donald Trump Jr., Tucker Carlson, Kid Rock, and Dana White as they walked into Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday night for the big UFC fight.
“Making his way into the building, one of the bigger mixed marital arts fans I know—President Donald Trump,” the television announcer said as Trump walked into the stadium flanked by Carlson, White, and Kid Rock, “taking his Octagon-side seat for UFC 295.”
Carlson tweeted video of the moment too:
Here’s what Trump Jr. had to say:
So did several others:
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 11: Former U.S. President Donald Trump is seen during the UFC 295 event at Madison Square Garden on November 11, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Trump’s very warm welcome in the city he once called home is particularly notable given the fact that New York’s Attorney General, Letitia James, is pursuing civil charges against his iconic company, the Trump Organization, in a trial playing out this past several weeks in court. Trump on Monday testified on the stand in court in downtown Manhattan, just blocks away from where he is on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
The case against Trump’s company, Trump’s attorney Alina Habba told Breitbart News Saturday on SiriusXM 125 the Patriot Channel earlier, is “a politically-motivated witch hunt.” Habba made the case that James is using the attack against Trump to build her own political profile.
“She is only there on high-profile days,” Habba said of James. “She does not come any other day. But she’s been there so much while the city is falling apart. But it’s quite telling as to what her priorities are as attorney general. And when you take that oath of office, your priority should not be yourself. Your priority should not be your politics. And it should not be trying to achieve a self-interested mission. It should be about taking care of the city.”
Trump had a particularly busy week. Outside of his court appearance on Monday, he held a massive rally in Hialeah, Florida, just down the street from the GOP presidential primary debate at the same time as the debate on Wednesday evening. He also, earlier on Saturday, held a rally in New Hampshire, the first-in-the-nation primary state.
Trump’s commanding lead in the GOP primary polls puts him in prime position heading into the Iowa caucuses in mid-January and in New Hampshire a little over a week later. Trump is also leading incumbent Democrat President Joe Biden in the general election in almost every survey nationally and in key swing states.
