First-timers travel to see Trump before he leaves the ballot
With the Nov. 3 midterm elections approaching, President Trump is holding one, sometimes two rallies a day, mostly in red states where Republicans are facing serious political headwinds. The official purpose is to help those Republicans win their races. But supporters are also showing up in part because the large rallies that have been Trump’s trademark could be drawing to a close — and Trump, who will not be on the ballot again, is asking supporters to pretend he is.
Blake Marnell is a long way from home. He is from San Diego, but on a recent Tuesday he was the first one through the gates for Trump’s rally in Greenville, North Carolina. “I took the month of October off thinking that there would be a few rallies, and as it turned out, there’s a ton of them,” Marnell said. “So I’m just going from rally to rally. And, like, some people like to go on cruises. I like political rallies.”
Marnell is famous for his dedication, always in the front row wearing a suit meant as an homage to Trump’s early campaign promise to build the wall. “Brick Suit, but I — President Trump just calls me Mr. Wall,” he said. Trump, in turn, has called him up from the stage: “And I also have my Front Row Joes. My Front Row Joes are so incredible. And a man who is very special. Mr. Wall, please stand up.”
Marnell is certain Trump will hold more rallies leading up to the 2028 presidential election. But Trump will not be on the ballot again, and once the midterms are over, it is not clear how many Republican candidates will want people pretending he is. For now, that is Trump’s plea: “Please pretend I’m on the ballot ‘cause in a way, I am on the ballot because they want to do away with all of the tremendous things we’ve done — the tax cuts, the border.”
Onstage, Trump is playing the greatest hits of his rally repertoire, including his riff about tariffs: “Tariffs. The tariffs. My favorite word. I always say it, but I had to change it to fifth. You’ve heard me say this. I said it’s a favorite word. It’s made us rich.”
There are newer bits, too. At a rally, Trump described his study of Ohio Senator Jon Husted in terms that drew laughter: “So I’m studying him. And I made the mistake of saying that I started off by studying his ass. I just want to say.” At a rally in Texas this week, he said the audience “loved it” and that Husted “went up 12 points that day,” adding, “He went from being down to being up.” He followed with a line aimed at Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton: “Maybe I should do that with Ken Paxton, but I’m not sure your body is going to qualify.”
Trump is also promising a $5,000 dividend if Republicans win the House and the Senate, and the pitch has come with a joke about what it would buy. “You’ll be my guest at Mar-a-Lago,” he told a crowd. “The problem is that for $5,000, the most you’ll be able to buy is a hamburger and maybe a small dessert. I don’t know. I’m not even sure you could buy that.”
In a year when affordability is a top issue, this is a performance for the Trump faithful. Cindy New of Emerald Isle, North Carolina, said she voted for Trump three times and was hoping for a good show. “And he can’t run again, they say, so I guess I got to come while he gets close,” New said. “And I missed all the rest of them, so I got to come see him once. I don’t need to do it but once. One and done. But I’m excited. We got to vote red around here.”
In Fort Myers, Florida, Valerie Thivierge showed up bedazzled. She had not been to a Trump rally before, either, despite owning a store in town devoted to him. “People are saying, oh, you’re going to close your store tomorrow,” Thivierge said. “I said, of course not — of course we are. This is our life. This is what we do all year long, and I want to go see him.”
By Trump’s telling, this is why he keeps doing it. “It’s not easy to stand up there for two hours ranting, raving,” he said. “You have the crowds, but there’s a lot of love in those rooms.” In Corpus Christi, Texas, he cast the closing stretch in longer terms: “And we’ve been doing this together for 11 years, and there’s never been anything like it. And there probably never will be anything like it again, politically or otherwise. So let’s go out and do what we do best, and that’s win on November 3. We got to win.”
Trump’s time at the center of the political universe is ticking down, but he keeps playing the hits, and the most loyal Trump fans keep coming.