New York state hasn’t voted Republican in a presidential race since Ronald Reagan burst onto the political scene, but that isn’t stopping former President Donald Trump from planning a huge campaign rally at Madison Square Garden before the end of the month.

“We just rented Madison Square Garden,” Trump announced Wednesday at a campaign rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania. “We’re going to make a play for New York, which hasn’t been done in a long time. It hasn’t been done in decades. How can New York be run worse than it is, right?”

Trump rented out the nearly 20,000-seat arena for Oct. 27. During his campaign, he alerted the city to the migrant crisis.

The migrants have taken over Madison Avenue, they’ve taken over Fifth Avenue, they’ve taken over the parks.

But local Democrats want to pull the welcome mat out from under the former president.

“It’s not much different from that infamous 1939 rally at Madison Square Garden, which was sponsored by the American Nazi Party,” Democratic state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal told NY1 on Wednesday.

“Real New Yorkers know the real Donald Trump. You are not welcome in Madison Square Garden in my district,” said Tony Simone, the Democratic State Assemblyman representing the district.

Joe Biden easily won New York in 2020. Registered Democratic voters outweigh Republicans, especially in the city, and polls show Kamala Harris with a significant lead over Trump in New York. But the GOP is confident.

“He offers an alternative point of view than what we get here from the Democrats under one-party rule. We have only seen Democratic rule from one party: high taxes, high cost of living, high crime, deteriorating quality of life,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the city’s only Republican congresswoman.

National polls show Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are neck-and-neck. And regardless of the presidential race, control of Congress could pass through New York.

“We will see many of these policies that are driving out New Yorkers, that have made us less safe, that have made this city unlivable and unaffordable for so many. That policy will become national policy if someone like Kamala Harris comes to power,” Malliotakis said. said.

Trump this year became the first former US president to be convicted by a Manhattan jury of felony charges of falsifying business records and paying hush money to a porn star. Hoylman-Sigal said Trump’s visit poses a security risk.

“Someone who is inciting violence and unfortunately has been the target of an assassination attempt, at least two, is concerning, so our NYPD and our first responders are going to have to be on high alert,” he told NY1.

Governor Kathy Hochul emphasized that the city is ready during a news conference Wednesday in Manhattan at the Jacob Javits Center.

“This is America, Bernadette, so people can have gatherings and it is certainly their right to gather. I have every confidence that the police will handle this and if they need our help, we will be there. There are 30,000 NYPDs, I have 6,000 state police officers. If they need our help, we are there,” Hochul said.

A representative for Madison Square Garden confirmed the event but did not comment when contacted by NY1.