UNIVERSITY PARK — Donald Trump finally got his Madison Square Garden moment, but not before heading to Happy Valley on Saturday.

With just over a week until Election Day, the former president took to the stage at one of the nation’s best-known venues on Sunday and hosted a rally in his hometown to deliver the closing message of his campaign against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

The rally opened with a hodgepodge of Trumpism, with an extended clip from the 1970 movie playing. “Patton.” Image of the American flag with Trump in front of it “God Bless America” he shouted over the speakers.

On Saturday, long lines, including the Penn State team and others, formed at the Bryce Jordan Center late Saturday morning. “Make America Great Again” Hundreds of people waited for the doors to open for the former president’s campaign rally.

Despite a scheduled start time of 4pm, the event’s doors opened at noon and many attendees arrived early Saturday morning to get in line. At noon, thousands of people flocked to Penn State arena wearing red hats, sweatshirts and flags.

“We love Penn State” Trump said at the opening of the rally. He then invited 14 current and former Nittany Lion wrestlers to the stage and shook their hands.

A similar scene played out at the Garden on Sunday. The arena was packed hours before Trump’s speech. The sidewalks outside the arena were filled with Trump supporters wearing red MAGA hats. There was a heavy security presence. Streets were closed and access to Penn Station was restricted.

The rally is one of a series of detours Trump has made through battleground states; these include a recent rally in Coachella, Calif. (the town is known for its famous eponymous music festival) and a rally at the Jersey Shore in May. He campaigned in the South Bronx this summer.

Harris has also traveled to non-battleground states for major events aimed at delivering a national message. She appeared in Houston on Friday to talk about reproductive rights with music superstar Beyoncé, and will deliver her own closing remarks on Tuesday at the Ellipse in Washington, where Trump spoke ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.

Trump’s New York rally was attended by supporters including Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who spent tens of millions of dollars to support his campaign.