Trump wore red and blue at the Madison Square Garden rally, not ‘Proud Boy gang colors’

Former President Donald Trump’s recent campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City drew attention for racist jokes and anti-immigration rhetoric, and claims he wore the trademark colors of a far-right extremist group.

"Trump wearing Proud Boy gang colors tonight at Madison Square Garden Nazi rally," the caption on an Oct. 27 Instagram post said, referencing an infamous pro-Nazi gathering more than 80 years ago. 

The post included an image of Trump in a black suit with a golden yellow-colored tie and gold "Make America Great Again" lettering on his black hat.The post’s image of Trump is authentic, but it’s not from the Oct. 27 Madison Square Garden rally, where he donned a blue suit and red tie — no hat. 

He wore the black suit, golden-yellow tie and black hat with gold lettering two days earlier at an Oct. 25 campaign rally in Traverse City, Michigan.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has declared the Proud Boys a hate group, and notes its members are "identifiable by their yellow-trimmed, black knockoff Fred Perry polos."

The group’s members are often photographed wearing black and yellow, including in a polo shirt from the British company Fred Perry, which in 2019 announced it was pulling the shirt from the U.S. market until it was "satisfied that its association with the Proud Boys has ended."

Trump, meanwhile, told the Proud Boys during a 2020 presidential debate to "stand back and stand by" following a question from moderator Chris Wallace, who asked if he was willing to "condemn white supremacists and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down."

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stated on October 27, 2024 in an X post

Image shows an anti-Trump billboard outside Madison Square Garden.

Trump later walked back the comment, saying he didn’t know who the Proud Boys were.

We rate claims he wore Proud Boys colors to the Madison Square Garden rally False.

CORRECTION, Oct. 30, 2024: This story has been updated to remove a reference to a Facebook post that we inaccurately described as containing a misleading statement about former President Donald Trump’s Oct. 27 attire.