Hikind served as a Democrat for 36 years in the New York State Assembly and later founded the group Americans Against Antisemitism
Elise Stefanik speaks with Fox Digital ahead of Trump's highly-anticipated Madison Square Garden rally
Elise Stefanik spoke with Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman from Madison Square Garden ahead of former President Trump’s highly-anticipated rally in deep blue New York.
Americans Against Antisemitism founder Dov Hikind, a lifelong Democrat turned Republican, criticized Hillary Clinton and Vice President Kamala Harris for comparing former President Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden to a Nazi rally at the famous venue in the 1930s.
"My God, what the hell is wrong with these people," Hikind said in a video posted to X. "This desperation on the part of Hillary Clinton and Harris calling Donald Trump a facist."
"Madison Square Garden. Half the place is going to be Jews there to support Donald Trump," he added. "They are so freaking desperate and they are ready to destroy America."
Hikind noted that his mother was a holocaust survivor in the Auschwitz concentration camp and that most of her family were killed by the Nazis.
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Attendees arrive ahead of a campaign event with former President Donald Trump, not pictured, at Madison Square Garden in New York, US, on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (Getty Images)
Clinton has linked the rally at MSG to the infamous Nazi rally that took place in the arena in 1939. The event was organized by the pro-Nazi German American Bund and was attended by thousands in the lead-up to World War II.
On Sunday, Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, echoed the same comparison.
"Donald Trump's got this big, rally going at Madison Square Garden. There's a direct parallel to a big rally that happened in the mid-1930s at Madison Square Garden. And don't think that he doesn't know for one second exactly what they're doing there," Walz said.
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Snapping into the regulation Nazi salute, Bund members hail the swastika banner as it is paraded in Madison Square Garden during opening ceremonies of the German American Bund's "Pro-American Celebration of George Washington's Birthday." (Getty Images)
Hikind, a former New York state lawmaker from Brooklyn, said Trump has the support of many Jews.
"So much of the Jewish community committed to Israel is supporting Donald Trump," he said. "To compare him to Nazis, the event at Madison Square Garden. Shame on them. Shame."
Hikind served as a Democrat for decades before joining the Republican Party in 2023.
"Unfortunately, the Democratic Party has become so radicalized, so radical, run by the radicals, that people who are moderates or conservative Democrats are not welcomed in the Democratic Party," Hikind said in a video message announcing his switch.
"And I've had enough. The Democratic Party turns its back on its friends like Israel, the Biden administration right now in policy after policy. I'm just tired. I've had enough," he added. "It took a long long time but I am delighted to join the Republican Party."
Dov Hikind, a lifelong Democrat who served for 36 years in the New York State Assembly and later founded the group Americans Against Antisemitism, criticized Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris over their remarks about former President Trump's campaign rally at Madison Square Garden. (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump and Harris campaigns.
Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to
