MANCHESTER, N.H. — After finishing behind Ted Cruz in Iowa on Monday, and only 1 percentage point ahead of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Donald Trump is doing everything he can to avoid a second loss in New Hampshire.
In addition to his signature campaign rallies, which have attracted dozens of young protesters recently, the Republican presidential hopeful has begun adding campaign stops with community leaders across the Granite State.
Recommended Stories
In between his two rallies Thursday, Trump met with several small business owners at a property management company in Exeter and then joined around 50 police officers in Manchester for a meet-and-greet.
“It was very last minute,” Lt. Brian O’Keefe told the Washington Examiner ahead of Trump’s arrival at the Manchester Police Department.
“He just called and said he wanted to ‘thank us’ … I really have no idea what’s going on,” O’Keefe added, seeming genuinely confused about the purpose of Trump’s visit.
Minutes later, Manchester Police Chief Nick Willard explained to his fellow officers that Trump had come to express his personal gratitude for their service before heading to a nearby town hall with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
“Mr. Trump says he has concerns about what’s been going on with the national narrative towards law enforcement and how he wants to change that narrative,” Willard said. “He wanted to come here and talk to the guys on the frontlines of the heroin fight that we’re under and thank you personally.”
“It really means a lot. How could I pass up that invitation?” he added.
Trump kept his remarks short, speaking for approximately two minutes and then spending the rest of his visit snapping selfies with dozens of officers.
“Most people are still making up their minds about whether they want to vote for him or not, and this certainly helps,” said Officer Rich Brennan.
While noting that he and his colleagues are “a skeptical group of people,” Brennan said Trump’s 20-minute visit to his precinct could carry a lot of weight among those of his colleagues who remain undecided.
“In this line of work, we get to meet a lot of the politicians, so you get a closer view of them, but it is kind of nice that he personally addresses us instead of a general audience,” he said, adding that he’s also spent time with Jeb Bush, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton on the trail.
Despite polling at more than 30 percent support among New Hampshire Republicans, the last-minute additions to Trump’s schedule suggest his campaign is attempting to correct mistakes that may have cost him a first-place finish in Iowa.
“Had I know I was going to be liked as much as I am in Iowa, I would have maybe spent a little bit more [money] and I would have been there a little bit more time, and I would have won,” the self-funded billionaire told reporters Tuesday.
Minutes before the Democratic debate Thursday evening, Trump’s campaign sent out a press release indicating the addition of another event this week. The candidate will hold a last-minute town hall at the Londonderry Lion Club at 12:30 p.m. ET Friday afternoon.
NOTE: A previous version of this article was incorrectly attributed to Jeremy Lott.
