New York, 28 October 2024 (dpa/MIA) - In a joint appearance with tech billionaire Elon Musk and other prominent supporters, US presidential candidate Donald Trump campaigned for votes on Sunday in Madison Square Garden in New York - a state polls say he has no hope of winning.

Trump, who was born 78 years ago in the borough of Queens, which was and still is considered a working-to-middle class neighbourhood, never received the backing of Manhattan's upper class liberal elite, who have turned even further away from the Republican candidate as his campaign's rhetoric becomes more violent.

Still, Trump made his pitch to the city's iconic arena, drawing significant cheers with personal attacks on his opponent Kamala Harris - despite repeating lies about the Democrat and her immigration policies.

Musk praised Trump's economic policy. Before they took the stage, Trump's wife Melania, who has rarely appeared during the campaign, and former wrestling star Hulk Hogan also spoke in Manhattan.

The election campaign has reached its final stage, with the final vote to take place on November 5.

Difficult relationship with New York

New York City - with a population of about 8.2 million people - is the country's largest metropolis and has been a Democratic stronghold for decades.

By stumping at Madison Square Garden, where the NBA's New York Knicks play, Trump might help some Republican candidates for the House of Representatives in a series of close races in the state. In the 2022 election, Democratic losses in several precincts in the state were seen as a major factor in why the Republicans took over House control then.

And while many Manhattan residents would be more than happy to see Trump out of their city for good, as seen by the general approval in 2019 when Trump changed his primary residence from Manhattan to Palm Beach, Florida, it doesn't appear as if the city is quite finished with him - or he with it.

Trump is due back in a Manhattan courthouse on November 26 for sentencing in the Stormy Daniels case for concealing hush money payments to the porn actress. He was found guilty on 34 counts, making him the first former US president who is a convicted felon.

Photo: EPA