With his supporters displaying a renewed vigor in the final days before the general election, former President Donald Trump is determined to expand the MAGA map, Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin told Newsmax on Monday.
Mullin joined "Wake Up America" hosts Sharla McBride and Marc Lotter in the network's New York City studio the morning after Trump supporters filled Madison Square Garden in one of the country's bluest cities.
"I got here on Saturday, and was walking around with my wife, and we were walking around just really looking for good food, which is easy to find. Right? And I couldn't believe all the MAGA hats I'd find everywhere," Mullin said.
"In 2020, 2016, you're walking around with a MAGA hat in New York, you're probably going to get heckled at best, and maybe getting a full-blown confrontation at worst. And it wasn't that way yesterday."
Besides packed MSG, Mullin said he saw "100,000 plus outside the arena that was excited, that was wanting to get in."
"It reminded me of a rival game, right, of an underdog going into the stadium of the No. 1 ranked football team in the nation, having no chance to win," he said, "but they go ahead and plant their flag on the 50-yard line and say, 'Hey, you might beat us right here, but we're going to fight you.' And that's what President Trump said, is, 'We may not win New York, but I'm coming back to reclaim some ground that used to be mine.'"
Mullin said Trump's rallies have shown that the former president's backers are eager to show their support for the Republican presidential candidate, who'll oppose Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election.
"I think it's bringing people out saying, 'Hey, it's OK to be loud and support President Trump.' Those days of saying, 'Hey, I really don't want to ruffle the feathers. I don't want to be blackballed. I don't want to be fired. I don't want to be put on a list where I can't be promoted anymore in my job, saying 'OK, no, let's run right into this because we're fighting for America.'"
Trump plans to continue to campaign this week in other traditional non-red areas, including New Mexico and Virginia.
"It's a sign of a real leader. Leaders show up. Leaders aren't afraid to step into tough positions," Mullin said. "Coming to New York is a pretty tough spot, right? Going to Albuquerque, New Mexico, I'll be with him, is going to be a tough spot. But you've got to take the fight to people that need to hear your actual message and … if you just rely on the media itself to bring the message, they won't be able to do it.
"Showing up in person means a lot. What is it, 80% of success is showing up, and he's showing up. He's showing up where most Republicans don't show up, where most Republican presidential candidates wouldn't even waste their time. But he's saying, look, the margins are so thin, we're not going to leave one stone unturned."
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