For Donald Trump supporters present Monday in Grand Rapids (Michigan) before his very last campaign meeting, there is no doubt: the White House is within reach and any other result will only be doubtful.
“Look at the number of people, look at the meetings, it’s crazy the support Trump enjoys,” says Mark Perry, 65, a warehouse worker in Indiana.
“If he doesn't like it, I think it will be very suspicious,” he said.
In the line that forms in front of the 12,000-seat room, in the rain, ponchos and folding chairs are out. Immigration is the biggest concern for some, for others it is the cost of living and some above all want to see even more restrictions on the right to abortion.
But whatever their priority, they share the idea that Democrat Kamala Harris cannot win on a regular basis, despite the polls which give the two candidates a close call.
“It would be very hard to swallow,” said Jacob Smith, 41, a heating engineer in the region.
His wife Danielle claims to have heard of anomalies on voting machines in their state.
Last month, an NPR public radio poll assured that 88% of voters supporting the Republican candidate thought there would be electoral fraud, compared to 29% of supporters of Kamala Harris.
Most voters, however, agree that Harris will concede defeat if necessary, unlike Donald Trump, according to the Pew Research Center.
– “Hard as iron” –
This is the third time in three presidential campaigns that Trump has held his final meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan's second city after Detroit.
In front of the room, the public began to arrive early in the morning, well before the doors opened at 6:30 p.m. and the candidate spoke at the very end of the evening.
Jeff Dickerson came from Florida to attend his eighth Donald Trump event, a list that he said includes his January 6, 2021 speech in Washington, which preceded the storming of the Capitol by a mob of his raging supporters.
“I support him as hard as iron,” said this 70-year-old handyman, particularly concerned about the issue of illegal immigration. “I love everything he’s done.”
At his side, his nephew Nigel Mahabir, a 48-year-old psychiatrist, is delighted to witness the last stop of the train which will bring the Republican billionaire back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
“There is an air of 1776,” assures the latter, in reference to the year of the Declaration of Independence of what would become the United States of America.
“If we have Trump in the White House, we will also have (Vice-President JD) Vance, Elon Musk, RFK (Robert F. Kennedy Jr.), Tulsi (Gabbard, former Democratic congresswoman turned Republican)… is Team America.”
Nigel Mahabir is concerned about a “movement that informs children about sex change procedures” and worries about its impact on “the mental health of our children”.
A concern shared by Ruth McDowell, 65, administrative assistant at a local academic institution, who says she worries about the future of her grandchildren if Kamala Harris wins.
For Chuck Lu, a Chinese immigrant who owns a small business in Chicago, the Democrat cannot be elected without cheating.
“If, God forbid, she becomes president, she will not have been elected but placed there,” he assures.
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