Opinion: Veterans warn of radicals hiding at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally

Donald Trump has no realistic chance of winning New York’s presidential vote – he trails by 19 points. Yet, on Sunday, he will hold a major rally at Madison Square Garden. This should alarm every New Yorker and every American.

The gathering is not about votes; it is about rallying his most violent, radical supporters to cast an even longer shadow of intimidation over the final days of the 2024 election and to prepare for the aftermath if he loses. This is part of his tragic but successful strategy of undermining faith in democracy. Nearly70% of his party still believe that Biden’s 2020 victory was illegitimate, despite the lack of evidence.

There is, however, ample evidence of polarization, culture war anger, and the radicalization of some military veterans – a small but significant group that has played an outsized role in America’s recent history. Of the more than 1,000 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection aimed at overturning the 2020 vote, about one in five have military backgrounds, according to Justice Department data.

This is why I am in Manhattan this weekend. I am a veteran (U.S. Navy pilot) involved in projects raising awareness of radicalization among retired troops and how this has fed extremist, anti-government groups like the Proud Boys, Three Percenters, and Oath Keepers – all of whom Trump used in the Capitol attack.

Chatter among these groups suggests they’ve been called to New York City but have been instructed to keep a low profile, not displaying their uniforms or colors. On Sunday, as they operate quietly, Trump, a master of dog-whistling, will feed them the hatred they crave, starting with the symbolism of past extremist rallies at Madison Square Garden.

A man who flirts with neo-Nazis at his Mar-a-Lago pleasure palace and has commented positively on Hitler, according to his ex-White House chief of staff, knows exactly what he’s doing by summoning his supporters to the same venue that held a German American Bund rally before World War II.

In February 1939, over 20,000 Americans gathered at Madison Square Garden to support Hitler in a shocking display intertwining American nationalism, swastikas, and images of George Washington. Hijacking Washington’s birthday, they advocated for a “white-only America” and included a Pledge of Allegiance, posters stating, “Stop Jewish Domination of Christian America,” uniformed stormtroopers, and speakers denouncing Jewish refugees and praising American racism like the anti-miscegenation laws, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and Jim Crow policies.

“It’s always been American to protect the Aryan character of this country,” declared one speaker, Gerhard Wilhelm Kunze.

Does any of this sound familiar? It should. Trump’s rhetoric echoes the same dangerous themes. He frames immigrants as invaders, journalists as enemies, and political opponents as existential threats to America’s future. This is the same playbook authoritarian leaders have used for centuries.

The Proud Boys, Three Percenters, and Oath Keepers are all banking on it. While they claim to “defend the U.S. Constitution,” I guarantee none will be huddled around copies of that great document studying or debating it at MSG. Instead, they’ll be soaking up Trump’s demagoguery, scapegoating, and fear-mongering – the MAGA playbook designed to divide, incite, and mobilize people to violence. Trump knows exactly how to tap into that dark current.

The good news is that in 1939, thousands protested outside MSG. While many Republicans have remained silent in the face of Trump’s madness, this weekend offers them a chance to reflect and perhaps join those opposing the rally, like the broad coalition of veterans I will stand shoulder to shoulder alongside

Gathering in the world’s most diverse city, the “concrete jungle where dreams are made,” will fire us up. Just five miles from MSG, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island stand as reminders of the sacrifice, work and cooperation that has really made this country great. According to the National Park Service, approximately 40% of America’s population can trace their ancestry through Ellis.

Trump may think his rally will intimidate us into silence. As veterans, we know that protecting democracy means confronting the forces that threaten it. This much is clear from history.