'What failure looks like': Analyst says Trump's New York rally laid bare his 'weakness'

Former President Donald Trump's rally in Madison Square Garden, has broadly come under fire for its racist messaging and has even been compared to a Nazi rally held at the same location almost a century ago.

But more than anything, wrote Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times, it signifies the true "weakness" of Trump as a candidate.

"Did Trump have the crowds he wanted? Yes. But that was the extent of his success that night. His overall message was dark, disturbing and as autocratic as you might expect from a man whose top officials have been warning us about his fascistic tendencies," wrote Bouie.

And furthermore, it wasn't just Trump — the rally played host to a long string of characters, each of whom revealed the "intellectual bankruptcy" of the movement Trump has built.

"There was, of course, the comedian from Texas who let loose a string of offensive jokes aimed at Blacks and Latinos, relishing the permissive atmosphere," wrote Bouie — which has caused an explosion of outrage in the Puerto Rican community and possibly hurt Trump's viability in Pennsylvania. "There was also Stephen Miller, a former Trump White House adviser and close confidant of the ex-president, who ranted and raved against the idea of the United States as a composite nation forged from many different peoples. 'America is for Americans and Americans only,' he said, jabbing the air as he stared out into the cheering crowd."

ALSO READ: MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell announces on air she's stepping down from her daily show

Absent from the proceedings, however, was any Republican voice even credibly outside the MAGA movement, noted Bouie — no governors like Glenn Youngkin or Ron DeSantis, none of his primary rivals, nobody renowned for political leadership. Instead, all Trump had were "an off-putting combination of D-list celebrities, including Dr. Phil and a visibly worn Hulk Hogan, and Trump sycophants, perhaps most notably Elon Musk."

"Far from showing strength, the Madison Square Garden rally showed that however vicious and virulent its leaders and supporters might be, the MAGA movement is a spent and exhausted force, even if it is not yet defeated," wrote Bouie.

This election is far from settled, Bouie cautioned — he could still squeak out a victory next week.

"But watching a lackluster rally headlined by the rambling patter of a tired candidate struggling to capture the attention of his audience, it is clear that neither he nor his movement has the juice," he concluded. "I know what failure looks like. At Madison Square Garden, I saw it on display."