On the outskirts of a Trump rally: Comradery, anger and 'Save America' energy

LAS VEGAS – Hundreds of Donald Trump rally ticket holders were clamoring to get in, when Craig Johnson leaned on his cane and asked security if there was any room left for a Navy veteran.

The expo center was at capacity, the officer said, but he could try the VIP line. A woman in a red "Make America Great Again" hat protested, "I was already inside," she said. "I just came out to get food!" The officer waved her in. Johnson shrugged and walked over to the VIP entrance – another no.

"I became a Trump supporter six months ago," he said. "I cursed him every which way and sideways in the past. But it was based on optics and feelings, emotions, more than anything else. Unfortunately, I had drank the Kool-Aid of the media."

Former President Trump's ability to win in November hinges not only on rallying his base to the polls but convincing independent, undecided or disenchanted Democratic voters in Nevada and other key swing states to turn out for him.

Trump's rallies are his answer to Democratic "get out the vote" initiatives. His rival, Vice President Kamala Harris , needled him hard in last week's debate about people leaving his rallies – out of "boredom," she said – but here in Las Vegas, no one was leaving and hundreds of people were trying to get in.

"There was not one boring moment in that rally," said Jerilyn Goff, who successfully got into the rally after fibbing that she had already been inside. "People were dying to get in. Mark that down in big capitals: Nobody wanted to leave that rally."

Trump and Harris are neck and neck in Nevada. A polling average of state and national polls compiled by FiveThirtyEight.com showed Harris up by less than 3 percentage points nationwide and just six-tenths of a point in Nevada as of Tuesday morning with seven weeks to go before votes are counted on Election Day.

Trump needs voters like Johnson, 67-year-old lifelong Democrat who was moved to Trump's politics by an unexpected swell of anger over immigration, after a visit to Chicago.

"With my own eyes I saw immigrants placed before Americans with certain things, to have access to medical, food," he said, of Chicago's efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants . "I was stunned. How can you do that? You want to provide the pathway but the pathway isn’t really a pathway; it’s a giveaway."

It was a Friday evening in the country's casino capital, still north of 90 degrees as the sun set.

Trump's "base" was gathered in a shape-shifting line: Men and women, young and old; Black, white and immigrant, all united in their shared belief that Trump is the answer to the country's problems, and in their hope that security would open the doors and let them in.

'Save America Again' energy

Lisa Bedell sat on concrete steps in a line that widened and narrowed as people tried to find a way in. She was holding the butt of Goff's cigarette. Another friend, Janeine Traster, waited with her.

It was Bedell's second attempt at attending a Trump rally in Las Vegas after she arrived too late for another event in June, a rally that hundreds abandoned early amid 100-plus-degree heat. That was before the first assassination attempt led his security detail to bring his events indoors.

A registration email for the Friday rally encouraged supporters to arrive by 4 p.m., and Bedell, like Johnson, had arrived about an hour later.

"I support him, and I believe him, and I'm hopeful," said Bedell, who owns a raw dog food business in Las Vegas.

Americans who responded to a USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll conducted in late August, said by a margin of more than 2 to 1 that the country is headed in the wrong direction. Only half of likely voters, 49%, say they'll cast a ballot based mostly on what they hope their candidate would do if elected. Almost as many, 41%, say their planned vote is based on what theyfear the other candidate would do if elected.

Bedell has been a Trump supporter since he declared his first candidacy in 2015, she said.

"Why?" she said. "Hope. I don’t believe in what they are trying to preach us or sell us. There’s got to be a change."

Vendors hawked their merchandise where people waited outside: MAGA caps in red, black and gold; snarky T-shirts that read "When I die, don't let me vote Democrat" and "I'm voting for the convicted felon." A red "Trump 2024 Save America Again flag" billowed in the wind.

Johnson wandered over and propped his cane on Bedell's step.

Everyone wondered out loud whether to stay or go. The president was scheduled to talk at 7 p.m.; it wasn't yet 6 p.m. But the glass doors had been closed for hours. The people waiting had a partial view of rallygoers inside holding red, white and blue signs.

No one wanted to miss their chance.

"We all have -isms," Johnson said, after introducing himself to Bedell. They talked about Trump versus Harris. "It's more about, 'What have you done for me?' I look at him, and he cares.""He really does," Bedell nodded. "We’re in his heart."

"My nephew told me, 'You like to read. Research Donald Trump. Research him. See what he’s done,'" Johnson said. "When I saw his executive orders, I cried. The border – I’m not against anyone coming here. But do it right."

Johnson shook his head, starting to choke up. "This country's afforded me so much that I couldn't do anywhere else."

Bedell pushed herself up from her seat, her silver bracelets clinking, and pulled Johnson into a tight hug.

Unity, excitement and anger

The moon rose in the fading light and Bedell and Traster decided to quit. Goff was still inside, waiting to hear Trump, so they'd come back for her later. They were headed to the Circa Casino tower Downtown, Bedell said. It wasn't her favorite local spot with the loose slots, but it was close by.

Dawn Reveles, a 59-year-old hair stylist, and her cousin Cindy Beers, 67, slipped into their places in line. Reveles wore a pair of Trump 2024 sneakers her husband found online and a baseball cap bejeweled with Trump's name. It was Reveles' third Trump rally but the first she didn't make it into after having to work late.

"The vibe is excitement," Reveles said, looking around. "The vibe is unity. The vibe is we are all here together to try to be a part of saving America, to be a part of history. Because if he gets in – he will get in – he’s going to save America. There are people that are following and watching, not only in the United States but outside the United States. They know that he is the lion."

"He’s strong," Beers said. "He’ll fight for us."

They made the best of it, grabbing Trump yard signs from a campaign worker then shopping the line of campaign merchandise stands set up outside.

It got dark. Florescent white lights illuminated the crowd outside. Inside, at 7:20 p.m., a white metal curtain began mechanically closing down, sealing off all but one exit from the rally hall – a clear sign the former president was about to speak.

"When he got in the building they closed everything," Goff said later. "You couldn’t get in and you couldn’t get out."

Goff, who makes a living cleaning houses, pet sitting and doing paralegal work, had tried to make it to the June rally before her car broke down and left her stranded.

So this time, she said, "I refused to take no for an answer. I prayed and prayed and prayed about it." Inside, the atmosphere was charged.

"You could feel the electricity in the air," she said. "It seemed like going into thousands of people that think just like me, cheering for the same stuff."

Outside, with the metal curtain drawn inside, the waiting rallygoers gave up and began to disperse.

Johnson said his goodbyes to some of the people he had met. On his way out, he strolled by an enormous cardboard cutout of Trump giving two thumbs up, while a vendor played the former president's speech live on a speaker.

"They’re taking over our country from within," Trump said of immigrants. "I mean, can you believe? And we got Kamala … I’m angry about rampant inflation destroying the middle class. And the American people are damn angry too. We’re all angry."

A little past 8 p.m., Bedell and Traster pulled back up to the Expo Center in Bedell's car. They were tired and convinced Goff to leave early – though she really didn't want to go – while Trump was still on the stage.

Lauren Villagran can be reached at lvillagran@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: On the outskirts of a Trump rally: Comradery, anger and 'Save America' energy