(Atkinson) Galvanized by his triumph in Iowa, Donald Trump’s supporters in New Hampshire already see him winning the Republican nomination and returning to the White House, to lower prices, close borders and make what makes America great, in their eyes.
Wrapped in blankets, shivering in the cold, hundreds of supporters trample in the snow, before being able to enter a “country club” hotel where the former president will launch the home stretch of his campaign for the Republican primary in this small state in the northeastern United States.
The day before, their champion, whose name is everywhere on caps, hats, sweaters and signs, won 51% of the vote in the Iowa caucus, putting him more than ever in the position of favorite to win the nomination of his party and go challenge Joe Biden in the presidential election in November.
“I didn’t doubt it at all!” », assures Loribeth Calderwood. This 45-year-old waitress and mother from Seabrook, a 30-minute drive away, even expects “a tidal wave in this primary.”
“It’s sure he’ll crush everything. And if he doesn’t do it, it’s because they will have stolen the election again,” she adds. Alluding to unproven accusations from the former president and his supporters that the 2020 presidential election, won by Democrat Joe Biden, was rigged.
New Hampshire’s Republican runoff, scheduled for January 23, is particularly anticipated because of the state’s more centrist reputation. But for Donald Trump supporters, the vote seems a foregone conclusion.
“It’s over, they should stop the primary. It’s the Republican candidate, come on! “, assures Edward
Nostalgia
On his way to the inauguration in view of the presidential election in November, Donald Trump, charged four times with criminal charges, will however have to juggle campaign events and trials.
Two states, Colorado and Maine, have also deemed him ineligible for the presidency because of his role during the storming of the Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021. These decisions were contested, and the Supreme Court agreed to take up the subject. Until she decides, Mr. Trump’s name will appear on the ballot in Colorado and elsewhere.
“If Trump is so bad, why don’t we leave his name on the ballot? Let the people decide. That’s true democracy, letting people decide,” says Paul Laskowski, a 68-year-old retiree who worked as a repairman in the energy sector.
“What I remember about January 6 [2021], it was gasoline” which was cheaper. “And you know what, I want to find that again,” he adds, confiding his nostalgia for an America that in his eyes is “more prosperous”.
An hour’s drive from the partisan rally, at the entrance to the small town of Derry, several “Trump 2024 Make America Great Again” signs also appeared on the side of the road. Vern Aylward, a 64-year-old plumber who has just parked his van, also finds that things were more “normal” under Donald Trump.
“The prices, the gas, the cost of food, everything seemed to be going like clockwork […] It has not dragged us into wars, it has not caused inflation,” he adds.
“Donald Trump, he knows what he has to do. Close the border [avec le Mexique] », thinks for his part James Legros, who, at 61, confides that he has only voted “twice” in his life. For Donald Trump, in 2016 and in 2020.
“And I won’t vote for anyone else.” Because I don’t trust anyone else, he adds in a decided tone, just before the arrival of his champion.