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Photo of Trump in black and gold captured at Michigan rally | Fact check
The claim: Trump wore black and gold at Madison Square Garden rally in solidarity with Proud Boys
An Oct. 27 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows an image of former President Donald Trump dressed in a black suit, gold tie and black and gold "Make America Great Again" hat. It also shows an image of a man's black and yellow shirt that says, "Spokane Proud Boys."
"Every neo Nazi knows the significance of Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally Sunday, channeling the famous 1939 Nazi rally held there," reads text above the images, which are from a post originally shared on X, formerly Twitter. "As a signal, last night Trump set aside his traditional blue suit & red tie in lieu of Proud Boys black and gold. He’s getting the band back together."
The post was shared more than 1,900 times in three days. Other versions of the claim were shared on Facebook and Threads.
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Our rating: False
Trump wore red and blue to his Madison Square Garden rally, not black and gold. The photo of Trump is from a Michigan rally held two days before his event in New York.
Trump photo predates Madison Square Garden rally
Trump wrapped up his final weekend before the election with an Oct. 27 rally at New York City's Madison Square Garden. Some social media users were quick to point out that the venue – in a different location at the time – hosted a 1939 rally by the American pro-Nazi group, the German American Bund.
Others claimed the former president wore the signature colors of the Proud Boys, an extremist group, at the rally.
But the photo of Trump dressed in black and gold was taken during an Oct. 25 rally in Traverse City, Michigan, according to the photo's caption on Getty Images. Other photos captured during the event show the former president wearing the same outfit.
Trump was photographed wearing a blue suit and red tie with no hat at his Madison Square Garden rally two days later.
The photo of the man wearing the black and yellow shirt was captured at a 2020 Proud Boys rally in Portland, Oregon, as seen on stock image website Shutterstock. The colors black and yellow are commonly linked to the Proud Boys because of its members' signature "yellow-trimmed, black knockoff Fred Perry polos," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Fact check: No, the Atlantic didn't publish a story with headline saying Trump is Hitler
Critics have linked Trump and the Proud Boys since he refused to condemn the extremist group during a 2020 presidential debate, instead telling the group to, "Stand down and stand by." John Kelly, Trump's former chief of staff, also told the New York Times that Trump made admiring statements about Adolf Hitler, and an Oct. 22 Atlantic article referenced a time Trump allegedly spoke positively of Hitler's generals.
USA TODAY reached out to Trump's representatives and the users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
PolitiFact and Check Your Fact also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
Getty Images, Oct. 27, Trump Campaign
Getty Images, Oct. 27, US-Vote-Politics-Trump
Shutterstock, Sept. 26, 2020, The Proud Boys Host A Rally In Portland Oregon, Portland, USA – 26 Sep 2020
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump didn't wear black and gold at Madison Square Garden | Fact check