The scene at Wildwood resembles a seaside concert, with a sea of people gathered in front of a stage on the sand.
But instead of band T-shirts, many wear familiar bright red baseball caps. And the main player they’re waiting for is Donald Trump, who is returning to the campaign trail after spending much of last week in a courtroom.
Thousands of people flocked to the famous Jersey Shore destination to see the former president hold a rally along the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday afternoon.
This is the second time in four years that Trump has held a campaign rally in Wildwood. He was also here in 2020, when he held a rally inside the local convention center during the quiet, cold January offseason — 10 months before losing the Oval Office to President Joe Biden.
This time, Trump appears directly on the beach, on an already busy sunny but windy weekend, a day before Mother’s Day and the fast-approaching Memorial Day. Just beyond the stage is the iconic Great White wooden roller coaster and other boardwalk entertainment.
The event comes just under six months before Trump and Biden — the presumptive Republican and Democratic nominees, respectively — face off in a bitter rematch for the presidency on Election Day in November.
Although New Jersey is a blue state that Trump lost twice by double digits, Wildwood is one of the patches of MAGA territory in the state. Officials expect tens of thousands of people at the event, with Trump’s team calling it a “mega crowd.”
Trump is expected to speak around 5 p.m.
- MORE: Supporters flock to Wildwood ahead of Trump’s seaside rally
As the sun rose Saturday morning, some people who lined up on the boardwalk Friday eagerly waited to find their place on the beach, with seagulls pattering overhead.
Chris and Jessica Mitchell drove five hours in heavy traffic from Sussex County Friday evening to attend their first Trump rally.
“I think this country needs him back, because I don’t think this country can survive another four years of Democratic rule,” Chris said, stressing that he is counting on Trump to reduce inflation, secure the border south and curb America’s dependence on America. foreign oil.
Jessica said she hopes Trump succeeds in cutting taxes.
Trump — who saw his fame grow in the 1980s as a casino owner just off the Garden State Parkway in Atlantic City — is holding the rally under a veil of legal issues. Wildwood is about two hours from the Manhattan courtroom where he is on trial in a hush money case. Trump also faces three other unrelated criminal indictments.
He also continues to be dogged by criticism over the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, despite several court rulings rejecting that.
But Kelly Moran came from neighboring Pennsylvania – a critical state – to attend her fifth Trump rally.
“It’s on the beach and it’s definitely going to be epic,” Moran said. “I love going to his rallies. There are a lot of great people here. You meet friends.
She expects this one to be different.
“I think Trump is going to talk about a lot of the things that happened at his trial, all the witch hunts and all the lies,” Moran said.
She added that Trump’s biggest priority should be the release of those charged in the Jan. 6 attack.
“They are political prisoners and they must be released,” Moran said.
Democrats held a news conference Friday to criticize Trump for the five bankruptcies recorded by his casino companies and his jobs record compared to Biden. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-11th Dist., is spending Saturday organizing various events in New Jersey to thwart Trump’s rally.
“Donald Trump, you are not welcome in New Jersey,” Sherrill wrote on social networks Saturday. “Because at the Garden State we believe in democracy, we know diversity is our strength, and we let women make their own health care decisions. Do us all a favor and go back to court.
- MORE: Democrats hit Trump ahead of New Jersey rally
However, Trump said in a radio interview Friday that he intends not only to compete in deep blue Jersey, but also to win the state — something a Republican presidential candidate does not hasn’t done since 1988.
“It’s not going to be just a matter of saying, ‘Well, maybe we can get closer.’ We are going to win it,” he said.
Michael Tyler, communications director for the Biden campaign, laughed about it.
“I think here on planet Earth, during the Biden campaign, we’re going to stay focused on winning 270 electoral votes,” Tyler said.
National polls have so far shown a close race between Trump and Biden. In New Jersey, a recent Emerson College survey found Biden leading Trump by just 7 percentage points and by just 5 percentage points when third-party candidates are added.
Trump has repeatedly accused the Biden administration and Democratic officials in New York of using the legal system to block his return to the presidency. Prosecutors say the former president broke the law to cover up an affair with a porn actor that allegedly hurt his first presidential bid.
He is expected to highlight his legal problems at Saturday’s rally, although he is under a judge’s gag order — and the threat of prison time — that limits his legal ability to comment publicly witnesses, jurors and a few others connected to the New York trial. which should consume a large part of the month. The judge in the case has already fined Trump $9,000 for violating the order and warned that prison time could follow if he does not comply.
Biden, meanwhile, began this weekend with a series of fundraising events on the West Coast and has so far avoided discussing Trump’s legal challenges.
Along the Wildwood beach and boardwalk, there are plenty of true Trump supporters — and right-wing views.
Dan and LeeAnn Raffensperger came from Lancaster, Pennsylvania for their first Trump rally.
“We travel all over the country and all over the world and here in America there is no city that we can go to that we feel safe in,” LeeAnn said.
Sue Micklus, of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, traveled to Wildwood on Friday after attending another Trump rally last month in her home state.
Wearing a “Women for Trump” T-shirt as she walked on the Wildwood boardwalk, Micklus, 60, said she has been politically active since her 20s, but has become more involved in over the last twelve years.
“We were a much safer country when he was president,” she said.
Adam Radogna, from North Carolina’s Outer Banks, waved a gigantic Trump flag on the boardwalk as passersby stopped to take photos. Radogna has attended more than 40 Trump rallies and is a member of the “Front-Row Joes” group that supports Trump and travels across the country in support of its candidate.
“We have members all over the country. There are no more than 30 or 40 of us and we love supporting Donald Trump,” he said. “He knows who we are and we’ve all met him.”
Jersey politics are also on display. Next year’s gubernatorial race to succeed Democrat Phil Murphy is already gathering pace, with a number of Democrats and Republicans declaring their campaigns.
On the Republican side, Trump’s influence is palpable. State Sen. Jon Bramnick has openly criticized Trump, while former state Rep. Jack Ciattarelli went from calling Trump a “quack” years ago to endorsing the former president this year and saying he would not disparage Trump supporters. Two pro-Trump candidates wait in the wings: State Sen. Ed Durr, who is expected to enter the race Monday, and conservative radio host Bill Spadea.
The question is whether someone who is anti-Trump or straddles the line can win over the base in the Republican primary and whether a pro-Trump candidate can win the general election in this Democratic-leaning state.
It was on Spadea’s radio show that Trump appeared Friday morning — during which he took shots at Ciattarelli, who is running for governor for the third time in a row, after narrowly losing to Murphy in 2021 .
“This guy never came to ask for my support, and you know what?” When MAGA sees that, they don’t like it and they didn’t vote for him,” Trump said of Ciattarelli, while calling Spadea “fantastic.”
Nonetheless, Ciattarelli worked with the crowd before Trump’s rally. At one point, a plane in the sky above him carried a banner: “Jack Citt said don’t vote for Trump, he’s embarrassing.” » It is not known who chartered the plane.
Meanwhile, Scott Laibaido, an artist known for painting patriotic images and political activist, was the opening act of the rally. Cheers and chants came from the crowd as Laibaido painted a picture of Trump while “America the Beautiful” played behind him.
Jersey-centric music – Sinatra, the Four Seasons – was also played over the event’s speakers throughout the day.
In the crowd, a few people wore T-shirts reading “Proud Boys,” a right-wing group that the Anti-Defamation League has called extremist.
Police said no permit for the counter-protest was filed with the city. And at 3 p.m., there was no one in the designated protest area on the beach.
But along the promenade walked a man wearing a blue Biden T-shirt and carrying a sign.
“No one is above the law”, we can read.
A woman shouted at him: “Biden is mean!” »
The man continued walking.
NJ Advance Media Editors Spencer Kent And André Malok contributed to this report.
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Eric Conklin can be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.
Matt Gray can be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
Brent Johnson can be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
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