Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stands on stage in Manchester, New Hampshire alongside running mate Mike Pence, son Donald Trump Jr. and daughter Ivanka. PHOTO BY SARAH SILBIGER/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
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MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE — Over 1,000 people gathered at the Southern New Hampshire University Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire Monday night to hear Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s final speech before Election Day.
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause when Trump took the stage with his family and Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence. Supporters waved signs bearing the Trump-Pence campaign logo and “Women For Trump.” Songs such as The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” which Trump has used frequently on the campaign trail, blared through the arena.
Trump began his speech by calling for support from voters of all ages and party affiliations. He appealed to a wide range of voters by emphasizing the important results that this election will determine.
“Tomorrow there is one fundamental question for you to consider. Do you want America to be ruled by the corrupt political class or do you want America to be ruled again by the people?” Trump asked the crowd, eliciting “U.S.A.” chants. “I am asking for the votes of all Americans. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, first-time voters, and there are a lot of those first-time voters, folks, who are so desperately in need of change.”
Trump mainly stuck to his regular stump speech, focusing on his goals of repealing and replacing Obamacare, building a border wall and telling voters that it is time to take the government back from “corrupt elites.” A large portion of his speech focused on attacking Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, criticizing her for being unfit to serve as president and drawing contrasts between the two.
“Hillary Clinton’s only allegiance is to herself, her daughter and her special interests; my only special interest is to you, believe me,” he said. “Hillary Clinton wants to double down on Obamacare, making it even more expensive. I’m asking for your vote so we can repeal and replace Obamacare and save healthcare for every family in New Hampshire and in our country.”
Trump also elicited loud “Lock her up” chants from the crowd when he addressed the WikiLeaks information that was recently released.
“Hillary has shown contempt for the working people of this country; her campaign in WikiLeaks has spoken horribly about Catholics and Evangelicals and so many others,” he said. “WikiLeaks just released another debate question. Hillary got another one, just an hour ago. I said I have to mention it.”
Trump surprised attendees when he announced that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady voted for him, and Brady gave him permission to tell the crowd.
“Tom Brady. Great guy, great friend of mine,” Trump said. “Great, great champion, unbelievable winner. He called today, and he said, ‘Donald, I support you, you’re my friend and I voted for you.'”
However, Tom Brady told WEEI 93.7 FM radio talk show hosts Kirk Minihane and Gerry Callahan Monday morning that he has not yet voted, according to The Boston Globe.
Several attendees said they felt confident that Trump can lead the United States in the right direction, and that too many Americans misinterpret his candidacy.
Gail Williams, 62, of Marlborough, Massachusetts said Trump is not afraid to speak his mind, and that too many Americans are not focusing on the right issues.
“He’s not afraid to call out the media, he’s not afraid to call out all of the things that Hillary hasn’t done in the last 30 years, and that’s why I personally like him, because he’s not politically correct,” she said. “And a lot of people don’t like his language, or the way he talks about women, and that’s not the issue … Look at our jobs. Look at the economy. Look at our borders.”
Cynthia Demerski, 65, of Sturbridge, Massachusetts said she has been supporting Trump since the start of his campaign and fully supports his plan for the United States.
“I’ve been supporting him since June of 2015 when he announced his candidacy and he put forth the issues and what was going wrong with America, and never wavered,” Demerski said. “And that was before the media got a hold of him, changed his words around, and all of the bias going around. [So] I stand firmly with him wanting to strengthen America again so that we can be the superpower we’ve always been.”
Christopher Annantuonio, 47, of Newton, New Hampshire, said he feels more comfortable expressing his political views in New Hampshire than in Boston, where he works at the Boston Medical Center. He added that he feels as though Americans have grown intolerant of opposing political views.
“[To] say that you want to protect your country and protect your borders, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. That’s actually in the Constitution, it is my right as a U.S. citizen to want that,” he said. “And for anyone to say I’m motivated by anything other than that right is actually un-American and I would describe it as evil.”