LEESBURG, Va. — Donald Trump took the stage after midnight on Monday morning, marking his latest rally of the campaign.
Trump was scheduled to start speaking at 9:30 p.m., but did not take the stage until several hours later due to stops in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Few at the Loudon County fairgrounds appeared to leave.
“Hillary right now, she’s fast asleep, she’s sleeping beautifully,” Trump said. “We’ll call this the midnight special speech.”
Police said the venue could hold 2,200 people but expected the final count to reach at least 5,000 people inside the building. A large crowd waited outside police barricades at the entrance. A police officer said the first people began waiting in line at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Several speakers spoke throughout the night to keep the crowd from growing restless while awaiting Trump, including former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, radio host Laura Ingraham and Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr., among others.
Santorum lauded the crowd and urged them not to grow tired as the clock neared 11 p.m., lest they risk losing the election to Hillary Clinton. Trump’s 2016 GOP primary rival told the crowd to expect a close race in Virginia.
“If Donald Trump wins Virginia, he’s not going to win it by a big margin,” Santorum said as the crowd shouted “when” in protest of his word choice. “It’s going to be close.”
He continued, “Sleep is overrated. Donald Trump isn’t going to get much between now and Tuesday. And if you love America neither will you.”
As the clock struck midnight, Ingraham sought to keep the crowd excited as said, “It’s our time to be counted not ridiculed.”
Falwell opened for Trump directly and called him “America’s blue-collar billionaire.” He also said to expect a Trump victory on Tuesday.
“Instead of Brexit let’s call it Trexit,” Falwell said of his predicted Trump victory on Tuesday.
Trump’s next stop on Monday morning is scheduled to be 11 a.m. in Florida, before additional stops in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire on Election Day eve.
