President Trump’s steadfast supporters staked out their places in line a day and a half before a major Keep America Great rally in New Hampshire Monday evening.
The rally begins at 7:00 p.m., just hours before polls open Tuesday for the Granite State’s first-in-the-nation primary. But fans such as Libby DePiero were already lining up Sunday morning.
“It’s a bit of an addiction,” said DePiero, a member of the so-called “Front Row Joes,” a group of Trump loyalists who sometimes line up days in advance to claim early spots in line before appearances. First in line outside the Southern New Hampshire University Arena in Manchester for Monday night’s rally, DePiero, the 64-year-old retiree from Connecticut, told the New Hampshire Union Leader that this was her 59th Trump rally.
“I can’t wait for this one. He’s going to be all pumped up because the impeachment is all over with,” she said. “He’s already posted he’s going to keep doing rallies after he becomes president, and I know he’s gonna be our president again. This is nothing but good here. I became a citizen so I could vote for this president.”
Trump’s last visit to the state was in August, where the record-breaking attendance at the SMHU arena surpassed the total at a 2001 concert for British singer Elton John.
[Read more: Trump taking his distraction roadshow to New Hampshire and beyond]
Great news! Tonight, we broke the all-time attendance record previously held by Elton John at #SNHUArena in Manchester, New Hampshire! https://t.co/GHvFBkA2KZ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2019
Two first-timers in line behind DePiero said that they wanted to give the president a boost. Expectations were high that this would be a rally to remember, his first following his Senate acquittal of the impeachment charges brought by the House.
“We showed up around 8:00 this morning,” said Jeffrey Roy, second in line. “I haven’t been to one of his rallies yet. I’m here to support. This is his first rally after the events last week, and he is going to be off the charts. I can’t wait.”
