GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (Reuters) – A stage in Green Bay, Wisconsin awaits the appearance of former US President Donald Trump, who is on the campaign trail. Some of Trump’s most ardent supporters, eager to see him return, spent the night in their cars in the freezing cold.
As “God Bless the USA” sung by Lee Greenwood was played from speakers inside the convention center, Trump, who has announced himself as the Republican presidential candidate, waved his hands, swayed his body, and drew applause. Repeat blowing kisses.
The crowd of 3,200 people repeats the “Trump” call. A young couple holds a baby high in their arms. I can see people crying here and there.
The most distinctive feature of Mr. Trump’s election campaign is these rallies by his supporters. The day-long event, which is a combination of an evangelical revivalist rally and a carnival, aims to provide a moving experience for the existing support base and draw in new supporters. explains the camp.
This is Trump’s third presidential election. He will face Democratic incumbent President Joe Biden again in the general election on November 5th. Meticulously planned, long-running events are back as a mainstay of Mr. Trump’s campaign as he seeks a return to the White House.
According to Justin Caporelle, deputy director of operations for the Trump campaign, Trump, who became popular on reality TV shows, listens to his personal favorites during his free time at his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida. He says he has a lot of control over the “look and feel” of the gathering, including the music he chooses from a popular playlist.
“Essentially, it’s like producing multiple rock concerts in a week, and that’s repeated multiple times a month,” Caporaire said.
Since the start of 2024, Trump has held 21 rallies, including 11 in Iowa and New Hampshire while competing for the Republican presidential nomination. This was revealed by Election Central, a nonpartisan group that investigates presidential candidates’ attendance at public events.
According to a Reuters analysis, as of mid-April 2020, when he was the current president, he had only 13 times.
Biden’s re-election campaign has largely skipped large gatherings in favor of small-scale interactions with voters at venues such as churches and union facilities.
In this election campaign, the Trump campaign will have to coordinate court appearances and rally schedules related to criminal and civil lawsuits. Over the past week, he visited a New York state court to begin a criminal case over hush money charges, and then headed to North Carolina, a battleground state, for a rally on the 20th.
Reuters attended Trump’s rally in Green Bay on April 2nd and interviewed nearly 50 attendees. She agrees that everyone loves attending Trump rallies. This is because there is a sense of camaraderie and there is no need to worry about political correctness. He said he came because he likes Trump and the rallies are fun.
Reuters also spoke to two campaign officials, including Caporer. Mr. Caporer’s campaign strategy and rally presentations are about creating an experience that instills a sense of belonging to energize his base and keep supporters connected to Mr. Trump and his populist message, thereby securing a second term. The company aims to become a driving force for the future.
“These are our campaigners. They want Trump to be president for the next four years, just like we do,” said Brian Hughes, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign. is.
Sharon Anderson, 68, drove five hours from her home in Tennessee to Indiana to meet up with fellow Trump supporter Mike Boatman, 56. The two traveled another eight hours to Wisconsin.
At night, I slept in a rental car parked outside the convention center. This is to secure a seat in the front row at the rally.
Mr. Anderson and Mr. Boatman are members of a group of about 50 people who call themselves the “Front Row Joes.” They say they always take turns standing at the front of the line at Trump campaign rallies.
It was Mr. Boatman’s 85th time participating in the rally, and Mr. Anderson’s 51st time. At a rally in North Carolina in March 2020, Trump’s son Eric pulled Anderson onto the stage and told a crowd of 20,000 people why he loved then-President Trump. was completed.
“We’re like family,” said Anderson, who was in charge of attendance as a high school administrator before retiring, before the rally in Green Bay. “I’ve made new friends from all over the country. I always leave Trump’s rallies feeling filled with hope for the future.”
Among the supporters waiting for the doors to open, Duane Schwingel, 65, a big Trump fan, dressed up as Uncle Sam, carried a large radio cassette player, and held a microphone as he praised Trump. Sing songs denouncing socialists.
Vicki Lou Heingraf, 62, of Wisconsin, attended a rally for the first time. She says she hopes it will bring back the feelings he had when seeing Trump walk the White House lawn as president. “Mr. Trump is a knight of truth,” Heinggraf said. “I am endowed with an absolute truth like universal gravitation.”
The Trump campaign hopes to use the rallies to collect and analyze participant data and link it to actual votes. Participants register their email address, cell phone number, zip code and state of residence and receive a text message in exchange for their ticket to the rally.
After the rally, attendees receive a barrage of text messages from Trump, including requests for donations.
Additionally, Hughes said the rally aims to generate low-cost local and national media coverage, gather volunteers, and encourage local politicians and leaders to echo Trump’s message. That’s what it means.
The Green Bay rally took weeks to prepare.
The Trump campaign’s advance team coordinated with the Secret Service and local law enforcement to ensure the safety of the convention center.
Advance crews spent days securing parking spaces, food trucks, restrooms, drinking water, merchandise and entertainment for supporters.
Local vendors and volunteers decorated the stage with a giant screen, red carpet and American flags.
Campaign volunteers handed out placards reading “Make America Great Again” and “Fire Biden” to supporters as they filed in.
Music selected by Mr. Trump will be played from the speakers. Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Mind”, Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Fireball Rock”, The Who’s “Pinball Wizard”, Village People’s “YMCA”, and “The Phantom of the Opera” musical. You can also hear “Music of the Night.”
Caporelle said the Trump campaign is working hard to modify and improve the “wonderful and unique experience that our attendees will have.”
After each rally, the Trump campaign team conducts a postmortem to discuss what went well and what could be improved for the next event.
This year there were some bold new ideas.
On March 16, as Trump’s Boeing 757 private jet landed at Dayton International Airport in Ohio, an announcement was made that read, “Trump Force One cleared for landing.”
The theme song from the movie “Top Gun” was played, and the venue got very excited.
The stage production is meant to entertain the crowd, but it also aims to emphasize his message that the country is heading toward “hell” and that Trump, along with his supporters, must change the trend.
About two hours before Mr. Trump took the stage in Green Bay, those who had taken the stage to speak began to galvanize the audience.
Mike Lindell, CEO of bedding company MyPillow, repeated his baseless conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was “stolen” from Trump.
Wisconsin State Representative Tom Tiffany said President Biden is giving illegal immigrants “VIP treatment” and said, “You’re being treated like a second-class citizen here in the United States.” .
The event also has a religious feel to it. “God bless President Donald Trump,” Pastor Casey Carey from Cross Point Church in DePier, Wisconsin, said during the opening prayer.
The audience responded, “Amen.”
Trump began his speech by suggesting that he, not Biden, won Wisconsin in 2020, and falsely claimed in his speech that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from him. repeated.
As Trump’s speech evokes outrage at the sad state of America and the “dark forces” opposed to him, it gradually becomes a religious “call-and-response” between pastors and congregations. It transformed into something similar to “.
Trump has been vocal in his condemnation of illegal immigration from countries such as Venezuela, Congo, Somalia and Syria.
The crowd then yells, “Build the wall!”
Trump promises to carry out “the largest deportation in American history.”
The audience responds with cheers.
Jennifer Marcieka, a professor at Texas A&M University who has written a book about Trump’s rhetoric, said these exchanges demonstrate a pledge of loyalty and protection to each other. As long as Mr. Trump works hard for his supporters, his supporters will also work hard for him, and since Mr. Trump does not betray his supporters, his supporters will not betray him.
“This is a powerful combination[in terms of reaffirming the connection],” Professor Mercieka said.
His speech at the Green Bay rally lasted about an hour. It was shorter than usual because Trump needed to travel by plane and not get stuck in the snow.
Mr. Trump held back on some of the more extreme language he used at past rallies.
Although he sometimes speaks in a cheerful manner, most of his speeches are tinged with dystopian expressions, in which Mr. Trump paints a picture of the United States caught up in a confrontation between good and evil.
At the end of his speech, Trump said, “2024 is our last fight.” “If you’re on our side, we’ll dismantle the Deep State, kick out the warmongers, kick out the globalists, throw out the communists, Marxists, and fascists who hate our country. Throw away the politicians.”
He then left the stage with a rhythm-and-blues classic by Sam & Dave that recently became part of Trump’s rally playlist.
The title of the song is “Hold On, I’m Coming”.
(Translation: Airkreren)
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