Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial and South Bronx rally this coming Thursday aren’t the only Make America Great Again shows in town this week.
A “Trump Rally Bronx MAGA cruise” on the evening of 22 May, the day before the former president appears at his first New York rally in eight years, was announced on Saturday by the site, TrumpSwag.com.
Organizers promise an evening to remember. “Sailing from Midtown, Manhattan the evening before Tump [sic] Rally Bronx. Party like a Rock Star with New York’s Finest MAGA Patriots,” the flier reads.
Only 150 tickets are available at $99 each, food and entertainment included, with cruisers told to board at 6pm for a 6.30pm cruising time.
Mimicking Mr Trump’s love of capital letters in his Truth Social posts, the FAQ for the cruise states: “BRING YOUR OWN BEER, WINE, LIQUOR. This is UNHEARD OF on a private Manhattan charter, but our Captain is allowing.”
The departure point is not advertised except for being “between 30th and 40th streets” on the west side of Manhattan (or “approx 40th Street” elsewhere on the website). More precise information will be emailed to attendees, the site says.
Lasting for about three hours, the cruise promises to take in the west side of Manhattan, downtown, the Brooklyn Bridge, Governor’s Island, the Statue of Liberty, and New Jersey.
The skyline and landmarks of New York aside, the boat itself might be quite the sight. “This will be a full fledged MAGA Rally in the NY Harbor. Bring as many flags, signs as you like. We’re going to make history!”
Boat parades in support of the former president became a feature of the 2020 election campaign and were held in cities across the country.
Sometimes the enthusiasm of the MAGA faithful got the better of them, and smaller boats would get swamped and sink.
The MAGA Cruise website includes pictures of some of those parades including a photo of a boat decked out in Trump flags in the marina at World Financial Center in New York’s Battery Park City.
Mr Trump, the presumed Republican candidate, has had to get creative with campaigning ahead of the 2024 election. His travel schedule has been somewhat curtailed by being a criminal defendant in a Manhattan courtroom where he is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records over alleged hush money payments to a porn star.
The former president has managed several photo ops around New York City in recent weeks and the Bronx rally follows on from a well-attended beach event in Wildwood, New Jersey.
