Trump Rally’s Audience Offers Perspective on His Standing
PLYMOUTH, N.H. — Latecomers shuffle into the indoor track and field complex. With a general admission standing section enclosed by bleachers, the setup resembles a concert. It sounds like one too, as The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” blares out of the speakers. The song appears to be an omen: it’s fifteen minutes past the scheduled start time, over 45 minutes since the opening speaker has left the stage, and it seems as though people may not get what they came here for. The anticipation is palpable. The attendees are either conversing, looking at their phones, or staring at the empty podium as if someone will appear out of nowhere. On two occasions the music fades out and the lights dim… only for both to come on full blast a few seconds later. These occasions see cheers turn to groans.
Without warning, the tone and tune change. A disembodied voice says “And now welcome th…” The rest is inaudible as people begin to hoot and holler. Signs and cameras rise into the air, and another classic rock anthem washes over the crowd: The Beatles’ “Revolution.” These people — packed like sardines into Plymouth State University’s gymnasium — have gotten what they want. The leader of their revolution: Donald J. Trump.
This energy is crucial. The Trump campaign is running the billionaire businessman as a populist candidate, and they’re relying on the fervor of the common man to propel him towards a potential Republican nomination. The characteristics of the crowd indicates the condition of the campaign.
Trump opens by emphasizing differences between his crowd and the crowd at last night’s G.O.P. debate. He maintains his claims that the debate’s crowd was filled with special interest donors to Jeb Bush. Bush and “special interest groups” are the butt of most of Trump’s jokes throughout the event. The crowd loves it. To them, Bush and his donors are the elitist, tweed jacket-wearing stiffs responsible for all that is wrong in this country. The people at this event are not wearing tweed. There are a few backwards hats scattered in the crowd; one man is wearing a Tom Brady jersey, and many others are clad in Trump-themed paraphernalia.
Everything in the event is somewhat disorganized and decentralized. In fact, Trump often has trouble holding the spotlight away from spectators. He does not see this as a problem, even saying “I love protesters” near the beginning of his speech. Before Trump even got to the stage, an ominous, deep voice pleaded with the crowd to refrain from attacking anyone protesting, and instead to chant “Trump! Trump! Trump!” while security would lead them out. Simultaneously guaranteeing protesters security and attention is a recipe for interruptions. And the interruptions come. One man takes off his shirt to reveal painted words across his body, including Trump is a racist on his back. Mr. Trump’s demand to “take him out of here” is barely heard over the “Trump! Trump! Trump!” chants.
Additionally, interjections and exclamations flow in from supporters seemingly at least once every ten minutes. Like the lead singer of a rock band, Trump plays off of them. “You need jobs!” he said, “We need jobs!” they responded. When an objector questions whether a border wall is cost-efficient, Trump prompts the crowd, “who will pay for the wall?” and the everyone bellows “Mexico!” in unison. At one point, a woman screams “China and Japan are stupid!” to which Trump jokingly says “you’re admonished” (referring to this event when he was criticized for not correcting a man who claimed President Obama wasn’t an American).
This image, juxtaposing Bush’s crowd of pompous donors and Trump’s crowd of raucous everymen, would suggest that the Trump campaign is achieving their goal of a populist, blue-collar, excited constituency. Where other candidates listen only to their friends with deep pockets, Trump asserts:
“I have no friends”
Unfortunately, this image does not hold for the whole rally.
In truth, much of the speech is not the rowdy bash that Trump’s events have been made out to be. Yes, there are those whose eyes stayed locked on Trump in admiration for the entirety of his speaking. Yes, there are moments, such as the aforementioned affair with the shirtless protester, which seem to rekindle the fire. However, aside from the exciting reveal of Mr. Trump, the event appears to be closer to what I’d expect from Kasich or Clinton than the famed Trump extravaganzas. In fact, by 2:00pm, less than an hour into Trump’s speech, a significant portion of the crowd, up to 15%–20%, begins filing out. They are bored.
Interestingly, the reason wasn’t because the Trump supporters aren’t as dedicated as once thought, which would be bad news for the Trump campaign. Instead, it’s because a considerable portion of today’s audience simply weren’t Trump supporters, which is even worse news. It isn’t that the constituency not as fervent as expected, it’s just not as large.
One attendee says that he is there with his son “to gather information” and because he loves the “uniquely American experience.” He also says that numerous people he’s spoken with fall into the category of “Conservative, but not a Trump supporter.” Surveying the crowd before and during the event seems to confirm this. Outside the building after the event, there are many, wearing and buying Trump gear, who are glowing about the performance. Still, they are not successful in completely drowning out those who were grumbling about how “racist” and “unrealistic” his talk was.
With his strong lead among Republicans in New Hampshire, Trump may not care much about how intense his supporters seem to be for this race. G.O.P. candidates pose little threat to Mr. Trump in the granite state, but if he’s looking ahead, one Democrat might. According to a Plymouth State student who is outside of the event, when Bernie Sanders was in the same gymnasium a few weeks ago, the energy was off the charts.
