GREENVILLE — Young students attending their debut political gathering, longtime supporters coming since 2015, or curious onlookers witnessing a presidential spectacle, they all agree: as Donald Trump runs his final campaign, no one will be able to replace his rallies.
“There’s a lot of Americana. There’s a lot of, you know, happy people,” a Trump fan named Bart said Tuesday night’s outdoor campaign event in Greenville, North Carolina.
Trump has been barnstorming across multiple US states ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, with his party at serious risk of losing their majorities in Congress.
In this rural corner of the eastern United States, “we don’t have stuff like this happen very often,” said Bart, attending with his wife Courtney and their two children, ages 10 and 12.
Bart, who declined to give his last name, walked past a “MAGA” souvenir stand and rows of red, white and blue bunting before finding his seat on an airport tarmac where the rally was held.
It was a familiar feeling. He attended his first Trump campaign event in 2015.
Since then, millions of Americans have experienced this in-person ritual—a unique blend of provocative verbal attacks, consummate showmanship, and tireless enthusiasm, all from a president who has reached age 80.