Inside the date bonanza for shunned NYC conservatives looking for love

On Tuesday night in the Big Apple, young conservatives found a safe space in the overwhelmingly pro-Democratic city at a 'Make America Hot Again' event. 

More than 100 showed up to flirt, mingle and discuss their shared beliefs at the second 'Make America Hot Again (MAHA)' event at Sincerely, Ophelia in the East Village.

Raquel Debono, 28, an entertainment lawyer who co-hosted the event with dating app The Right Stuff rented out the speakeasy for fellow conservatives to band together to take over what many called the 'liberal hell hole' of New York City.

Spirits were high as glamorous conservatives showed up to the bar - with many young Republicans hoping to find love while watching the vice presidential debate.

Even couples joined the hotly-anticipated event to show their support for their fellow conservative 'family' in New York. 

Many of the guests - who were eager to hear Vance and Walz debate around like-minded people - found out about the party through Debono's videos on TikTok and Instagram.

Crowds of energetic attendees showed up to the Manhattan bar from far and wide, with some traveling from Connecticut, New Jersey, and Long Island specifically for the coveted mixer.  

Compared to the happy hour in September, a good mix of both men and women came out to show their support for the Republican party.  

Free drinks were flowing in the packed-out bar ahead of the debate - which was broadcasted live and projected onto the big screen inside the speakeasy. 

And as Trump's vice presidential pick Vance took to the podium, swathes of revelers inside the bar clapped and cheered - while the Senator rallied through GOP policies like immigration and the fentanyl crisis against Democratic Walz. 

After the political contest was over, the ritzy MAHA crowds danced and mingled until the early hours of the morning.  

Sami Ishaq, 21, from New Jersey, came on Tuesday for his second MAHA event.

'I think a lot of times, especially in an area that is predominantly liberal, you almost feel like you're crazy for believing what you believe - and having the point of view that you have,' Ishaq told DailyMail.com.

When asked if he came out to the bar to meet a potential partner, Ishaq said: 'Never say never.'

'It wasn't my sole intention, but it's definitely something that I would be open to.'

Tom Dilling, 33, told DailyMail.com that this was his first MAHA event, and although he 'didn't expect such a turn out,' he met a lot of new people.

'All networking has an element of it 'could be a date' eventually, dating and networking are related.

'So there's always that there, but I wanted to watch the debate with other people who are conservative, and if you're doing that and getting out, you know, sometimes that leads to dates,' Dilling added.

Zach Bleeker, 26, said 'he really loved the event' and in the Big Apple it's challenging to 'meet like-minded people.'

'It's really important you get to meet people that think the way that you do, you get to actually have productive conversation, a listening ear, and you get new perspectives,' Bleeker said.

He said he loved to see 'quite the mix' of men and women at the event and that he was drawn in by the potential of meeting a love interest.

'Even if it's something that you walk away from not finding the woman of your dreams, you can make bonds with other people,' he added.

Tyler Phan, 23, told DailyMail.com he was interested in the event after seeing posts about it on The Right Stuff, the conservative dating app.

'So I created an account, I logged on, and I saw the event posted on the app and I ended up joining,' Phan said.

Although he was drawn in through the dating app, Phan said he was there to 'mingle and see what happens.'

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Phan, who serves in the Military, said he would be comfortable meeting and possibly dating a Democrat, as long as they had 'strong Christian values.'

Another attendee, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed how comfortable she was coming to an event considered a 'safe space' for all.

'It's really nice to have that initial foundation to build upon, and you kind of know what everyone is about when you walk in,' she said.

'But getting to be around other people who think similarly to you, it sort of makes you feel like, 'OK, maybe I'm onto something here,' and you gain a level of confidence in your beliefs.'

When it came to expressing their political views, partygoers were not shy about sharing their opinions on the presidential and vice presidential candidates.

 Isahq said he didn't really know what Kamala Harris believes. 

'She says a lot of nothing and she doesn't really hold a consistent standard on any kind of a policy,' he said.

The young conservative added that because of this he 'almost finds it difficult to formulate an opinion on her because she just isn't incredibly principled one way or another.'

'To me, she seems like a person who would be really good at winning an election, but not somebody who would be particularly good at governing,' the 21-year-old added.

In terms of Harris' vice presidential pick, Tim Walz, Ishaq said he 'was a smart pick for her.'

'What Americans need is a conversation and maybe we can find a little tolerance and middle ground,' he added.

Ishaq's close friend who he met at the last event and often hangs out with, Ben Hayes, 26, said 'Trump is a wolf in wolf's clothing.'

'You know, he's not a nice guy and he doesn't necessarily try to hide it. I think Kamala, in a sense, is kind of worse.

'She's a wolf in sheep's clothing - she's a career politician. You look at her net worth from the time she got into politics to now, it's increased infinitely, where Trump has lost $5billion.

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'And I think it's something you need to take into account when you're looking at politicians,' Hayes said.

Hayes also made it clear that he's not particularly impressed with the work she's done.

'You know, she can promise all these things, but the proof is not in the pudding - she has no grandiose ideas,' he said.

After watching most of the debate, Dilling said that 'JD Vance is smoking him [Walz].'

'I haven't heard JD Vance talk that much... I didn't know his verbal fluency was so high, and I'm not saying Walz is out of his league, but JD Vance is a lot more impressive than I thought he was,' he added.

Dilling said he finds it 'interesting' that the presidency role 'got passed off to her' and that he doesn't 'really believe her.'

'I think this election is going to be on immigration, I think if you talk to even a random person in New York City, you hear from them that it's a lot different from them than last time Trump ran.'

Bleeker said that even though there has been 'zero action' from Harris, 'her marketing has been fantastic and it will swing a lot of people who don't think too hard.'

Another partygoer, who wished to remain anonymous, told DailyMail.com that Harris is 'not exactly my cup of tea.'

'Someone like Trump, or just the right wing in general show that you can work for the American dream, and it's achievable and you can have it,' she said.

'People on the left that just want to give, give, give, people want the American dream handed to them, and it's not going to be handed to you,' she added.

Emily Wilson, 31, a political commentator with more than 156,000 TikTok followers, also attended despite admitting she isn't a 'huge fan' of New York.  

Wilson, who also goes by emilysavesamerica on TikTok, said JD Vance is 'a real American.'

'He was the best pick for Trump. He truly, he really keeps his cool, he's very calm. He's not insulting, I mean the way, really Kamala is.

'I think he could be a very bright future for the Republican party.'

Debono told DailyMail.com she was thrilled by the turn out on Tuesday night and would continue to host other MAHA events in the future.

'People treat political parties like you're a politician, like you're not like, sit down, relax. Just come hang out, it's fun!'

After the debate, Debono said that many people 'are probably refreshed by how professional Vance is.'

As someone who studied political studies and law, Debono said she's 'always wanted to get into politics.'

In August, the Democratic party threw a 'Hotties for Harris' event after the DNC in Chicago.

It was certainly far more colorful than the New York City event.  

The party focused on feminism, sex and its after-effects. The morning-after emergency contraceptive bill was being distributed out of a gumball machine. 

'Plan B, nom nom nom,' the machine read. In fact early pregnancy tests, morning-after pills and UTI medication were distributed in every room of the event.

The machine wouldn't have gone down well with Tuesday night's Republican crowd.