A Motorcade For The Ages

Sunday’s Trump Motorcade that swept the entire south shore of Long Island, the first of its kind to officially kick off campaign season, included an estimated 400-plus motorists over 95 miles.

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If this past Sunday’s motorcade parade on Long Island is any indicator of the strength of the MAGA grassroots, then my friends, we’re in good shape.  Kevin Smith, co-founder of the Loud Majority activist group, spearheaded a caravan rally that covered nearly the entire south shore of Long Island, a 95-plus mile stretch that ran from Seaford to Montauk.  Smith estimates that about “three hundred” motorists showed up bright and early at the Seaford Train Station on Sunday morning, but that number quickly ballooned as more riders became aware of what was going on and joined in on the party at various points throughout the day.

Many of the vehicles that appeared were decorated in MAGA and “Let’s Go Brandon” accoutrements.

Perhaps no greater symbol defines the Trump era than the car and boat parades, which square a perfect balance of spontaneity and organization.  Kevin Smith, who has been leading the charge on these parades since the 2020 lockdowns, nearly three years ago, believes that Sunday’s turnout was just the start of what is promising to go down as the most passionate rally season yet.

“Long Island always was and still is Trump country, and any Republican not on board with the America First agenda needs to get out of our way,” Smith said.

The motorists assemble in formation at the Seaford Train Station, in preparation for the day’s events.

Long Island was the perfect place to jumpstart parade season.  Not only is it geographically the easternmost point of the country as well as the headquarters of the Loud Majority movement, whose car parades have established a national template for offshoots from Nantucket to Nashville.  But moreover, it is in many respects the birthplace – and epicenter – of the MAGA movement.  Donald Trump hails from Queens, just a stone’s throw away from the parade’s starting point in Seaford, situated one county over.  If it were not for the Long Island-wide sweep of the congressional districts in the 2022 midterm race, a result in no small part due to Mr. Smith’s campaigning, the Republicans would not have had the House Majority, and Kevin McCarthy would not currently be serving as Speaker of the House. Republican wunderkind George Santos, who represents a district covering the northern part of Nassau County in Congress, would still be rescuing animals rather than working the hallowed halls of Congress. 

Both counties on Long Island – Nassau and Suffolk – have been Republican strongholds in the Trump-era.  Suffolk, which is home to over a million blue-collar voters, many of whom participated in the cavalcade, broke decisively in Trump’s favor in both 2016 and 2020, and is known as the largest county in the country by population that voted for President Trump – reversing decades-long inroads by Democrats.

The motorcade parade, which resembled an army of pomp and circumstance, takes a breather on the side of Montauk Highway in Sagaponack, New York, planning their final stretch to the end of the island.

The day was a rousing success and set the stage for what is shaping out to become a contentious general election campaign, witnessing a country in its most fractured state since at least the Civil War. On another level, the vigorous turnout on Sunday might also be seen as the proverbial death knell for the rest of the Republican contenders not named Trump.  At this point, with all the momentum on Trump’s side and his separation from the rest of the pack only getting larger by the day, the primary is for all intents and purposes, over. No other Republican (and certainly not Biden), can even get their heads around the kind of love and support from the grassroots, and absolutely not in the form of a car parade, that Trump commands. 

Kevin Smith (Right), co-founder of the ‘Loud Majority’ activist group and talk show host of the ‘Loud Majority’ podcast on LFA TV, pictured alongside myself (center) and John “Johnny Football” Cafiero (Left).

The Loud Majority activist organization was founded by Kevin Smith and his partner, Shawn Farash, on the basic principle that the American people are fed up and no longer willing to stay silent.  And despite all the hectoring, browbeating, and gaslighting from the mainstream media – coupled with the ridiculous indictments, one after another, lodged against President Trump by the deep state – the spirit of MAGA remains alive and well, and the momentum only gets stronger by the day.

Smith captured the spirit of the moment well, and did not mince words about what needs to be done: “We can’t let up an inch. Republicans have been giving into Democrats’ demands for 40 years. And Donald Trump proved the only way to win is never give in, never take a step back and that’s exactly what these rallies are about.”

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Paul Ingrassia is a Law Clerk at The McBride Law Firm, PLLC. He graduated from Cornell Law School in 2022 and is on the Board of Advisors of the New York Young Republican Club. He is also a two-time Claremont Fellow. Follow him on Twitter @PaulIngrassia, Substack, Truth Social, and Rumble.

Kevin Smith is the Founder of the Loud Majority, the largest and fastest going grassroots conservative organization in America. Follow him on Twitter @kevin_smith45.