Donald Trump is planning a campaign event in New York at MSG

New York state hasn't voted Republican in a presidential election since Ronald Reagan burst onto the political scene, but that isn't stopping former President Donald Trump from planning a major campaign event at Madison Square Garden later this month.

“We just rented Madison Square Garden,” Trump announced Wednesday during a campaign rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania. “We're going to do a piece for New York, which hasn't been done in a long time. This hasn't been done for many decades. How could New York be any worse governed than it is, right?”

Trump has rented the nearly 20,000-seat arena for Oct. 27. During the election campaign, he denounced the city for the refugee crisis.

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

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

“It’s not all that different from the infamous Madison Square Garden rally in 1939 that 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 at Madison Square Garden in my district,” said Tony Simone, the district’s Democratic representative.

Joe Biden easily won New York in 2020. Registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans, particularly in the city, and polls have shown Kamala Harris with a sizable lead over Trump in New York. But Republicans are confident.

“It offers an alternative viewpoint than the one we get here from Democrats under single-party rule. “All we’ve seen is Democrats running under one party: high taxes, high cost of living, high crime, deteriorating quality of life,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the city’s only Republican member of Congress.

National polls show Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris neck and neck. And regardless of the presidential election, control of Congress could rest in New York.

“We're going to see a lot of these policies that are displacing New Yorkers, that have made us less safe, that have made this city unlivable and unaffordable for so many. “These actions become national actions when someone like Kamala Harris takes office,” Malliotakis said.

Trump this year became the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a felony by a Manhattan jury for falsifying business records and paying hush money to a porn star. Hoylman-Sigal said Trump's visit posed a security risk.

“Someone inciting violence and unfortunately being the victim of an assassination attempt, at least two, is concerning, so our NYPD and first responders need to be on high alert,” he told NY1.

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

“This is America, Bernadette, so people can hold rallies and it is definitely their right to gather and I am very confident that the police will handle it and if they need our help we will be there . There are 30,000 New York police officers, I have 6,000 state troopers. If they need our help, we are there,” Hochul said.

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