Trump Reclaims New York In Grand Style

As New York appeared to enter its final hour, the 111th NYYRC Gala gave the city – and MAGA movement – a much needed shot in the arm.

Cover photo credit belongs to Michael Cravotta.

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On Saturday, New York, maybe the only city in the world capable of producing a man with The Donald’s larger-than-life bona fides, hosted President Trump in the heart of lower Manhattan.   The occasion was historic, and not only for the prestige of the venue at ritzy Cipriani Wall Street, or for who played host – the New York Young Republican Club (“NYYRC”), led by Gavin Wax, which has quickly transformed into the most influential of such clubs in the country.  Even more significantly, it marked the first time since President Trump’s illegitimate ouster from the White House that New York City was united in celebration, rather than condemnation, of the man poised to be America’s 47^th President.  For months, the city has arguably been the epicenter for the Biden regime’s exposé in political prosecution by way of deep state proxies like Letitia James, Arthur Engoron, and Alvin Bragg.  Although the regime’s foot soldiers have orchestrated their witch-hunt across the eastern seaboard, from Florida to Georgia to Washington, D.C., New York has born witness to the most egregious abuses of our weaponized justice system, most notably observed in the ongoing civil trial that has seen a rogue judge autocratically undervalue Mar-a-Lago potentially fifty-five times less than its actual worth, in order to game his preposterous legal theory.

Club members organized a rally for President Trump at Collect Pond Park in April, across the street from the NYC Courthouse in which he was indicted, in an effort to boost morale and mobilize the MAGA faithful.

So just when New York appeared to enter its darkest hour, the 111^th NYYRC Gala gave the city – and the MAGA movement writ large – a much needed shot in the arm.  Though Manhattan operates now as a deep blue island within a deep blue state that has for decades been under Democrat lock and key, the Empire State’s overall political climate has taken a decisive shift rightward in recent years, a shift that should worry Democratic leaders, both in New York and throughout the country.  Biden was said to have won New York by over twenty-three points in 2020; that once seemingly insurmountable lead has shrunk, according to a recent Siena College/NY Times poll, to single digits.  Last week, President Trump endorsed Jeff Van Drew to oversee neighboring New Jersey’s campaign operations, suggesting that the President believes the Garden State – and by close proximity, New York – could well be in play as soon as next year.  The Gala itself, which hosted well over a thousand attendees, from all across the world, in the most elegant and grandest of venues, is testimony to the spirit of the MAGA movement, and its resilience even behind enemy lines.  The Gala featured President Trump as its main attraction, but it was also populated by other high-ranking, MAGA-aligned lawmakers in both the Senate and House, as well as countless other domestic and foreign representatives united in the Club’s overall mission to support populism and nationalism and to disrupt globalism, wherever it may spring up.

Another scene from the Collect Pond Park rally, featuring Club members Benjamin Geller (Left), Jack Posobiec (Center, with microphone), NYYRC President Gavin Wax (Second from Right), and Vish Burra (Right).

The New York Young Republican Club does not shy away from controversy – the bold act of situating the Gala in the belly of the beast is the ultimate telltale of the organization’s chutzpah.  But the sort of controversy in which the NYYRC engages has never been limited to rabblerousing alone; the Club, all throughout the year, has spearheaded the proverbial counterrevolution against perfidious forces within New York, in both party establishments, that have been hellbent on sabotaging President Trump’s mission through the weaponization of the justice system.  Hence, when the news first broke in April that the 45^th President would be receiving the first of (what turned out to be four) sets of indictments, the NYYRC was the first and only group to deploy its members, like paratroopers, on the ground just across the street from the courthouse in which Letitia James’ political persecution would take place.  This they did twice, first a press conference in late March on a raw, overcast evening, before a gaggle of hostile reporters, at a time when polling suggested President Trump was still an underdog candidate, and the prospect of a general election victory was anything but determinate.  Although the tides have since shifted – decisively, even dramatically – a little over a half a year ago nobody knew how these indictments might unfold, or whether the deep state possessed the political capital to do the unthinkable and actually imprison a man who occupied the Oval Office.

NYYRC President Gavin Wax (Center), speaking before a gaggle of reporters in late March shortly after the news of the unprecedented indictment against the 45th President broke. He is flanked by fellow Club members Paul Ingrassia (Left), Mike Crispi (Second from Left), Vish Burra (Third from Right), Kevin Smith (Second from Right), and Aldo Solares (Right).

The tides have shifted indeed.  In the ultimate month of the ultimate year before the election, President Trump is cruising to a historic victory over Biden – he is up in every single swing state, and in some – like Iowa, Michigan, and even Nevada, a state he carried in neither 2016 nor 2020 – by double digit margins.  The momentum is undeniable.  New York, which has become synonymous with political corruption of the worst kind, may – ironically – also prove to be the wellspring for national renewal.  For out of evil comes good.  And the city that gave birth to the greatest President must also, through the darkness, contain the ingredients for the restoration.  Testimony for that is observed not only in how the NYYRC has incubated the Gala, the arena for President Trump’s comeback, but, furthermore, in how it has produced some of the strongest warriors in the MAGA movement this go around.   

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Gavin Wax, president of the NYYRC, gave a rousing keynote address before the 47^th President spoke, which harkened on themes of retribution that built off Wax’s similarly fiery call to action last year.  Nathan Berger, the NYYRC vice president, spoke of mobilizing a broader populist coalition that would unite forces in Europe and Latin America against a common globalist menace that aims to eradicate borders, culture, and national identity, in the name of a values-free Weltanschauung.  Benjamin Geller, NYYRC, Chairman of the Board of Advisors, embodies the spirit of the Club’s public advocacy mission, given his dual capacities as both a high-ranking member of the Club as well as his role as a New York State legislator.  In fact, part of the Club’s overall prestige comes from how many members have gone to serve in all levels of government and attain success within their posts. 

NYYRC Board of Advisors Member, Paul Ingrassia, speaking at that same press conference, flanked by Club members President Gavin Wax (Left), Mike Crispi (Second from Left), Trenton Pande (Third from Right), Vish Burra (Second from Right), and Kevin Smith (Right).

A brief sampling of members who ran for, served in, and in countless cases, won government offices, just in recent years, is legion (and legendary): Elise Stefanik, Cory Mills, Lee Zeldin, Paul Gosar, Vickie Paladino, Claudia Tenney, Marc Molinaro, Andrew Giuliani, Anthony Sabatini, George Santos, Laura Loomer, Stefano Forte, Joseph Borelli, Vish Burra, Benjamin Geller, Mike Crispi.  Many others – including Wax, Loomer, and Ingrassia – remain confidantes and trusted friends of President Donald J. Trump, who has tapped into the vast network of Club members to form a coalition united in their zealotry for the likely 47^th President and his political agenda, and committed to “total war” against the deep state and its accomplices.  Indeed, voices like Wax and Loomer have led the charge exposing Ron DeSantis’ charade of a campaign, which is beholden to the same anti-Trump special interests that have sought to derail the MAGA movement ever since that fateful escalator ride was made nearly a decade ago.  If it were not for the collective heroics of Gala attendees and influencers like Gavin Wax, Laura Loomer, Alex Bruesewitz, Vish Burra, and Joel Valdez – among many others – DeSantis’ ties to unregistered foreign agents, or Ronna McDaniel’s reckless spending, or Kevin McCarthy’s pact with the DC Swamp, might not have been exposed.  Indeed, it was due to these vigilant, grassroots-fueled efforts that President Trump will be careening into the Iowa primary, riding a historic 50-plus point lead over the rest of the field. 

Kari Lake, flanked by NYYRC President Gavin Wax and other members of the NYYRC at a Club event in NYC in April.

It was also Club members who worked dutifully behind the scenes, in congressional offices like Matt Gaetz, Elise Stefanik, and George Santos, that helped expose disgraced former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for the fraud he always was, which culminated in a historic ouster after Gaetz moved to vacate the Speaker’s chair back in October. 

The NYYRC have set the rubric for other Young Republican Clubs across the country – including the Washington DC Young Republican Club (pictured). The DCYRs hosted Congressman Matt Gaetz for several speaking events and includes several high ranking members of his staff, including Wilson and Valdez, on its Board.

Moreover, Wax, Burra, and Berger have set the rubric for other Young Republican Clubs across the country to follow – the Washington DC Young Republican Club, following the lead of their New York brethren, underwent a dramatic change of leadership, spearheaded by Brian Oakes, John Wilson, Kingsley Wilson, Joel Valdez, and others, moving the needle decisively in the pro-MAGA direction.  Similar overthrows were made to the Palm Beach Young Republican chapter (while several others are in the process of being overhauled), which has extrapolated the NYYRC model, the Young Republican Club equivalent to an Elon Musk-style hostile takeover, on the national level.  This takeover replaced the old, anti-Trump leadership with populist insurgents in the vein of Wax and Burra across the land.

Laura Loomer — who arguably did more to expose Ron DeSantis’ corrupt campaign than anybody — surrounded by other NYYRC members in August.

In addition to incubating political talent, in recent years the NYYRC Gala has been attended by intellectuals and influencers within the conservative movement broadly.  Jack Posobiec, senior editor of Human Events, is a staple.  So too is Raheem Kassam, editor-in-chief of the National Pulse, who hosted this year’s swanky afterparty.  Other luminaries include Trump firebrand and legal spokeswoman, Alina Habba; the famous host of Warroom, Steve Bannon; former New York City Police Commissioner, Bernard Kerik; former Assistant Attorney General, Jeff Clark; emcee and comedian, Alex Stein; and voter registration extraordinaire, Scott Presler.  Representatives from influential conservative think tanks like the Claremont Institute and American Moment were also in attendance.  Widely respected elder statesmen in the conservative movement, such as Rudy Giuliani and Roger Stone, are frequent Gala mainstays.  And, of course, the most important guest of all, Donald John Trump, who serenaded the audience with a speech equal in parts gravity and levity.  The punchline, of course, was the 45^th President’s riffing on the Left’s greatest nightmare that in a second term he would rule like a dictator: “I said I want to be a dictator for one day. You know why I wanted to be a dictator? Because I want a wall, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”

The importance of the evening was encapsulated by Jack Posobiec, who related the occasion to a scene from antiquity.  Posobiec analogized the Gala to one of the many banquets Alexander the Great put on for his generals on the night before conquering Persia, in which the world historic leader famously declared “tonight we dine, tomorrow we march.”  The parallels between Alexander’s banquets and Saturday evening’s feast, also replete with some of President Trump’s most loyal generals, were uncanny.  The evening, as celebratory as it was given the President’s commanding poll numbers, also felt like the great calm before the storm: preparations for all-out war with the deep state.  Here too was situated the majority of Trump’s fiercest fighters, aptly just a stone throws away from where the fated revolution began almost a decade ago – the warriors in that room, the next generation of MAGA, will be tasked with carrying the torch of the movement for generations to come – and perhaps too from that lot will arise Alexander’s successor.

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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.

Gavin M. Wax is a New York-based conservative political activist, commentator, columnist, operative, and strategist. He also serves as the 76th President of the New York Young Republican Club and as an Ambassador for both Turning Point USA & Live Action. You can follow him on Twitter at @GavinWax.

Nathan Berger is an entrepreneur and vice president of the New York Young Republican Club. His writing has been published in Newsweek and other publications. He has been described by leftist journalists as having a “temper and bizarre confrontation style.” You can follow him on Twitter at @nberg5.

Ben Geller is a New York Legislator; Managing Partner of Today is America, which powers the Students for Trump Organization; and Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the New York Young Republican Club. Ben spends his time on Humanitarian Medical Missions around the globe, Philanthropy & is a First Responder. The New York Post describes Ben as “One of Gen Z’s Right Thinking Saviors.” You can follow him on Twitter at @RealBenGeller.