Trumpophobes still don’t see the President’s secret power

Standing on the sidelines and hating President Donald Trump has become a status symbol for many US politicians, but their rhetoric blinds them from seeing why it is that Americans love him so much, writes Miranda Devine.

Listen up Trumpophobes.

It’s not so hard to understand the US President’s electoral appeal.

Try going to one of his rallies and, instead of turning up your nose at the “smelly Walmart people”, listen and learn.

The abuse of Donald Trump and his supporters which passes for analysis from his opponents around the world is a strategic error just 16 months out from the US election.

The more abuse, the more Trump’s base is energised to turn out on election day and vote. It’s obvious when you watch him with his people, as I did on Thursday night in New Hampshire.

At the rally to launch his 2020 campaign in the New England state, Trump broke Elton John’s all-time attendance record with an 11,500 crowd inside the vast Southern New Hampshire University Arena. And it wasn’t just a Trumpian boast, but a number confirmed to reporters by the Manchester deputy fire marshal.

An overflow crowd of 8000 people watched outside on a giant screen.

The audience this summer night are patriots, veterans, mums and dad, some who have travelled for hours and waited all day.

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They wear “Trump 2020. F**k Your Feelings” and “Proud to be a Deplorable” T-Shirts, American flag boots and MAGA hats, as baby boomer anthems from AC/DC and the Rolling Stones whip them into a lather of excitement not seen since the last WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Trump’s ability to engage with voters through his rallies is unlike anything the US has ever seen. Picture: Nicholas Kamm/AFP

“Good people”, Trump calls them.

Within ten seconds of taking the stage to Lee Greenwood’s anthem ‘God Bless the USA’ he’s telling them: “I will never, ever let you down.”

This is a president who connects with people in an intensely personal way.

“I love you”, he says, again and again. And they yell “We love you, Trump” right back.

He tells them he’s back to win the state he missed out on by fewer than 3000 votes in 2016. Back where it all began, because the New Hampshire primary delivered him the thumping outsider victory which sent the Republican establishment into a spin from which it is still to recover.

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“Where it all started, right? The greatest political movement in the history of our country,” he says, with his trademark hyperbole.

Then he launches into a pitch-perfect stream of consciousness schtick that entertains for an hour, with jokes and insults and the obligatory pause for a collapsed fan overwhelmed with excitement or the ordeal of waiting for hours in the hot sun for the doors to open.

“Is there a doctor in the house? Take your time”, says Trump, prowling the stage. “These are great people that love our country, just remember that”.

The intense audience interplay makes it a peculiarly participatory form of theatre, more like a Christmas panto than a political rally, with Trump the conductor expertly directing the crowd’s emotions.

Fans cheered for Trump in New Hampshire. Picture: Spencer Platt/Getty

“America is winning again, and America is respected again, respected like never before.”

The crowd roars. “USA. USA. USA.”

“More than seven million Americans lifted off of food stamps.”

A huge cheer.

An even bigger cheer greets his new motto: “I know you like me,” he tells them, “and this room is a love fest. But you have no choice but to vote for me because your 401Ks [retirement savings] are going to be down the tubes. Everything’s going to be down the tubes. So whether you love me or hate me, you gotta vote for me.”

A crowd favourite is Democrat bashing, especially Hillary Clinton. “33,000 emails!” is all he has to say.

“Booooooo!”

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Another crowd pleaser is defending cops. The Democrats “slander our law enforcement heroes,” he bellows. “You see what they’re doing with our police that we love … Has anyone ever seen anything like the water being thrown on New York’s finest?”

“Boooooo” yells the crowd, the loudest all night.

For a 73-year-old whose only exercise is golf his energy is extraordinary.

Half an hour in, Trump reaches his crescendo, wrapping the economy, patriotism and fear of the enemy in one soaring riff.

Having started on trust, Trump ended his New Hampshire rally on love. Picture: Nicholas Kamm/AFP

“Wages are rising, and you know who’s the biggest beneficiary? Blue collar workers. My administration is fighting to expand opportunity for citizens of every background and every race, religion, colour, and creed.

“Because we are all Americans. We all share the same home. We all share the same heart. We all share the same dreams. We are all children of the same Almighty God.”

God elicits the biggest cheer of the night.

Having started on trust, he ends on love.

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“Our movement is built on love, and it is, and we love our family. We love our faith. We love our flag, and we love our freedom, and that’s what it’s about.”

The crowd knows what’s coming and they roar for it.

“We are making America safe again.”

They chant along with him: “And we are making America great again”.

Suddenly he’s off the stage. The Rolling Stones’ classic ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ plays over the loudspeakers as the crowd hurries out with a parting thumbs-down to the media penned in the centre of the stadium.

“You really feel he’s talking to you”, says Nick Isgro, 38, who drove almost three hours from the neighbouring state of Maine with his 14-year-old son.

“He’s the most powerful man in the world, yet he doesn’t feel out of reach. He feels like he’s one of us.”

This is Trump’s secret sauce, which his antagonists can’t feel because they hate him so.

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