Manchester, N.H. – He was boisterous, brazen and bawdy. Republican frontrunner Donald Trump did anything but tamp down expectations in his final rally before New Hampshire's first in the nation primary.
In what he called his “final lovefest” in the Granite State, he implored voters to ignore the snow storm barreling down on New Hampshire Tuesday and cast their ballots. And he marveled at the thousands who packed the Verizon Wireless Arena in downtown Manchester despite the snowy weather raging outside.
“There’s like seven accidents outside,” he said.
“If you’re going to drive like a maniac, do it after you vote,” he added.
The billionaire developer has led the polls in New Hampshire for weeks, and anything short of a victory would be a blow to his campaign.
In a roughly hourlong speech, he again knocked former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, trailing badly in the polls, for being “low energy.” And he repeated an expletive that a supporter in the crowd used to deride Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who won last week’s Iowa caucuses, before jokingly scolding the woman.
"Ma'am, you're reprimanded,” he said.
The crowd booed when he mentioned global warming and cheered when he repeated his vow to build a wall on Mexico’s border.
“And it’s going to stop the heroin and the drugs from coming to New Hampshire,” he said. “Believe me.”
And in a moment of reflection, he thanked the supporters for what he called “the most amazing experience of my life” before again urging them to vote for him.
“Tomorrow is going to be the beginning.”
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