Supporters Hannah and Randy are voting for Trump (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
It was a day of fervent patriotism as thousands of Trump supporters descended on Salem, Virginia, this weekend for one of the presidential hopeful’s final campaign rallies. The most dedicated rose at the crack of dawn to queue from 8am – four hours before the doors of the town’s Civic Center were due to open.
Once inside, a parade of political backers whipped the crowd into a frenzy before Trump arrived to thunderous applause and spoke for more than 90 minutes about his plans for “America’s new golden age”.
The former and perhaps future president ticked off every topic on the Trump bingo card, relentlessly attacking his rival Kamala Harris over her handling of the economy, migration and transgender issues.
Promising to usher in a new dawn where America is “bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer and stronger”, he told his enraptured audience: “If we win Virginia, we win the whole thing. It’s very possible that without winning Virginia, we’re going to win the whole thing.”
The so-called Mother of States was an ambitious choice for a rally in the campaign’s final days, with Harris polling 6.2 points above Trump according to statistician Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight. But the strength of support from around 6,000 fans admitted to the relatively intimate venue was undeniable.
READ MORE: Inside US election swing state at boiling point – ‘I hope Trump gets shot again’
Trump delivered a passionate 90-minute address in Salem (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Among those queuing in the 20C afternoon sunshine was Hannah Dunn, a 27-year-old nurse from Tennessee. She told the Express that Trump was the first president she voted for and she was backing him again to build a better future for her two sons.
Hannah said: “This is my first rally and I didn’t know what to expect, I was a little nervous. But it has been great, everyone has been very kind. The energy is very lively.
“I have a blue collar husband, I’m a nurse, so we want the same economy as we had with President Trump.” Hannah was with her family and son Jaxon, nine, who proudly showed off a T-shirt reading: “If I were 18, I’d vote for Trump.”
She added: “I’m not 100% confident. I wish I could be. I think he has everything it takes to get the votes, it’s just whether or not it will be truthful.”
The suggestion that the election may not be fair was a common theme. Teacher Ginny Perfater, 37, said: “If he doesn’t win, it’s clear the system is rigged.”
Trump fans travelled from far and wide to hear him speak (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
She had travelled with her daughter and niece from Blacksburg and said she admired Trump’s support for freedom of religion.
Ginny added: “I am 100% pro-life. I got pregnant with my daughter when I was 18 and I raised her and God took care of us. I believe that life is important and it starts in the womb, and we have to protect life in the womb. Murder is wrong regardless.”
Meanwhile, Randy Laudermilk, 64, suggested Trump’s supporters were not as extreme as reports in the UK might suggest.
Stressing that his vote hinged on policies rather than a personality contest, he added: “We’re probably no different than most people, that want safety and security and economic stability, to be able to live with a certain amount of personal freedom.”
Fans sported an array of inventive T-shirts with iconic images such as the moment Trump raised his fist into the air after a failed assassination attempt in July.
Another popular design featured his mugshot alongside the defiant caption: “I’m voting for the convicted felon.”
Trump fans had come as far as from Japan and South Korea (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
With Trump en route from an earlier rally in North Carolina, political heavyweights took to the stage to warm up the crowd.
US senate candidate Hung Cao’s mentions of illegal aliens and “countries that hate us like China, Syria and Yemen” elicited pantomime-esque boos.
And Winsome Earle-Sears, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, denounced the “evils” of men being allowed to compete in women’s sports and “taking body parts off children”.
Finally, the music became so loud it reverberated through our chests and the man himself took to the stage to the theme song of WWE wrestling legend The Undertaker.
During a wide-ranging speech, Trump brought out members of the local Roanoke College women’s swim team, which a year earlier had rejected a transgender athlete trying to join.
The former president said the team had bravely “stood up to the transgender fanatics” before commenting that he could not describe them as beautiful because “I’m not allowed to use that term anymore with women”.
Swimmer Lilly Mullens praised Trump for his support, adding: “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have advocated for and pushed for this anti-woman, sex-based discrimination to continue all over this country, and point blank, it’s unfair.”
Thousands queued from as early as 8am at Salem Civic Center (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
On the economy, Trump warned that under Harris it was tanking with “the worst numbers I’ve ever seen”.
He added: “If Kamala wins you’re three days away from the start of a 1929-style economic depression, and if I win, you’re three days away from the best jobs, the biggest paychecks.”
The bullish candidate also sought to portray himself as putting his life on the line for his country following the July shooting.
He told the audience he need not have attended the rally and could instead spend his time on the beach at one of his oceanfront properties, “my beautiful white skin getting nice and tan, being smacked in the face by a wave”.
Trump went on: “I could have said ‘to hell with everything’. I could have had the greatest life in the world. Instead I got missing a little piece of my ear.”
In sharper remarks, he branded Harris as having “an extremely low IQ”, diagnosed her with “a massive and untreatable case of Trump derangement syndrome” for her critiques of him, and dubbed California state representative Nancy Pelosi “crazy as a bedbug”.
There was a heavy security presence outside the event in Virginia (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
His fans went wild for every juvenile taunt and unscripted joke, which showed Trump at his crowd-pleasing best and included a quip about having a bad hair day after catching sight of himself on a large screen.
The most sombre moment came when he addressed the issue of migration, showing a video of Alexis Nungaray, a mother whose 12-year-old daughter Jocelyn was sexually assaulted and murdered by two illegal immigrants.
He was then joined on stage by Tammy Nobles, whose 20-year-old daughter Kayla was raped and killed by an illegal immigrant and MS-13 gang member.
Blaming her death on the current administration’s lenient border controls, Trump told the crowd: “Under the policy of Kamala Harris, he was released into the US to kill and kill at will.
“On the day I take the oath of office, the migrant invasion ends and the restoration of our country begins, because the United States is now an occupied country.”
Vendors hawked Trump merchandise outside the venue (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
After around an hour and a half, it was time to wrap up as members of the crowd began leaving before Trump had finished speaking.
In a final burst of energy, the candidate ended his address by chanting in unison with the audience his trademark pledge to “make America great again”.
The race for the White House remains too close to call, with some polls suggesting a last minute surge for Harris and others predicting a narrow Trump victory.
Only time will tell whether he has the numbers to secure a second term, but there is no doubt that Donald Trump is fighting for every last vote.
