Donald Trump has a chance of winning New York as he books Madison Square Garden

Donald Trump said he would hold a rally at Madison Square Garden to “make a show for New York,” a state where he trails Kamala Harris by double digits.

“We just rented Madison Square Garden,” he told a cheering crowd in Joe Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday. “This hasn’t been done for many decades. But we're going to…how can New York be governed worse than is right,” Trump said.

He then denigrated New York City and its immigrant population.

“I mean, I think that, you know, the migrants. The migrants have taken over Madison Avenue. They took over 5th Avenue. They've taken over the parks, the kids can't play Little League. You know, it sounds like a trivial thing. It's a big deal when you have a son who's a Little League player and he can't play.

The rally will take place at the Midtown venue on October 27, just days before the November 5 election.

But despite his hopes of toppling the Empire State, Trump is not very popular in his old hometown. The former president lived in New York City his entire life until he changed his official address to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida in 2019.

Since Biden ended his re-election bid and endorsed Harris, seven polls have been conducted in the state. Harris has won every poll by 12 to 21 points.

New York last supported a Republican in 1984, when it voted for Ronald Reagan. In 2016, Hillary Clinton led the state by 22 points and Biden by 23 points.

Since 2016, New Yorkers have repeatedly protested on the streets of Manhattan, sometimes in front of Trump Tower, chanting “New York hates you” as he drove or walked by.

Trump has frequently criticized the New York state government and judiciary. In May, a jury of 12 New Yorkers unanimously convicted Trump of 34 counts of falsifying business records after two days of deliberations. Trump has claimed that he is innocent of any crimes and is the subject of “lawfare” rather than legitimate legal process.

Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Knicks and one of the most famous arenas in the world, has a seating capacity of 19,500.

The venue hosted the Democratic National Convention in 1924, 1976, 1980 and 1992, as well as the Republican National Convention in 2004.

Last month, Trump held a rally in Nassau County, a Republican-leaning county on Long Island. Video footage appeared to show many empty seats in the 16,000-seat Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum during his speech.

Newsweek has reached out to Madison Square Garden and the Trump campaign for comment via email.