Lucy Gellman Photo
McLean and class at the rally..
Manchester, N.H. — Less than 12 hours from the start of the first-in-the-nation primary, Quinnipiac University Professor Scott McLean had an assignment for his road-weary students: Attend a Donald Trump rally as one of his staunch supporters, sporting red campaign swag and foam pointers for believability. Stick it out through every vitriolic comment and unexpected jab. And then, if they were willing to shake their cover just a little, give it a grade.
The students — 20 New Haven-area aspiring lawyers, professors and political scientists enrolled in McLean’s course on presidential election campaigns — agreed to take on the task Monday evening inside the city’s hulking Verizon Wireless Arena, located at the heart of downtown Manchester.
In a high-stakes game of “play the part,” the 20 waited outside in falling snow for over an hour, infiltrated the VIP section of Republican presidential candidate Trump’s final rally in the state before Tuesday’s first-in-the-nation primary. The students spoke to Trump supporters like 2014 Connecticut gubernatorial hopeful Joe Visconti, and cheered on the Donald himself, who came out with fighting words not just for the media, but for Ted Cruz, immigrants, the entire country of Mexico, and Democrats everywhere, particularly Hillary Clinton.
The students played along. When Trump (who entered the hall to the strains of the Beatles’ “Revolution”) declared, “Pretty soon, we’re going to start saying ‘Merry Christmas’ again when it’s Christmas!” sophomore Murphy Siegel waved two Trump-emblazoned foam fingers and a Trump bumper (Trumper?) sticker wildly through the air.
When the candidate uttered the words, “Ted Cruz is a pussy,” junior and declared Rubio supporter Cassidy Fitzgerald gave a whoop of accord as she pulled at the brim of her red baseball cap, stitched with the words “Make America Great Again” in thick white thread.
And when Trump argued, “You wouldn’t have had that carnage [in Paris]” if the French had brought guns to the Bataclan with them and that “nobody’s going to play with us” if he’s elected, Professor McLean, who lives in New Haven’s Westville neighborhood, cheered loudly, undercover Sanders supporter Paul Brosnan nodding and laughing right along with him.
Siegel outside the rally.
That was, of course, partly the spectacle of it all. After the event, a few members of the class shared what had been going through their minds as the candidate railed on, concluding with a call to arms and reminder to vote, despite any inclement weather “that might get you hurt out there.”
“If I’m going to grade it on entertainment, it’s an A+” said Siegel, a libertarian who started McLean’s class on board with Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders but has since found himself undecided. “If I’m going to grade it on how confident it makes me with the candidate, it’s a D-. That was scary. I think that we forget that we’re choosing the man that’s going to have the head of the table in the sit room.”
Others found the spectacular aspect redeeming.
“I think Trump has his own kind of grading system,” said Fitzgerald, proudly displaying Trump’s fresh autograph on the cap. “For Trump, I’d give him maybe a B+. I liked his enthusiasm. I’ve seen some better speeches by Trump. But it was an exciting experience to be there.”
Fitzgerald.
Outside in the plummeting temperatures, freshman Antoine Cambell had a different take.
“I would give it, like, a B+,” he said. “I don’t really support Trump, but that was probably one of the only rallies where I was awake the whole time.”
Lucy Gellman has spent the last week and a half in New Hampshire with canvassers, campaign staffers and volunteers, and candidates. To listen to more of McLean’s Quinnipiac students, click on or download the audio above. This is the ninth installment in a Soundcloud playlist of many political voices from the road.