Ali Miraj 12pm - 3pm
Nick Ferrari attends his first Trump rally in Pennsylvania as he meets the crowd in 'the poorest city in the US'
5 November 2024, 07:29 | Updated: 5 November 2024, 10:43
Nick Ferrari attends his first ever Donald Trump rally
Nick Ferrari has arrived in Reading, Pennsylvania, for his first Trump rally ahead of US election day.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
A last ditch attempt by Donald Trump to secure the keys to the White House, the politician is spending his final day on the campaign trail blitzing the swing state.
His first stop: Reading, the most impoverished city in America.
The former President took to the stage in front of 5,000 or so people spread out across the 7,000 seater arena as he rallied support ahead of citizens heading to the polls.
Among the audience was Nigel Farage, who enjoyed a shout-out from his long-time friend.
Also in attendance was LBC's Nick Ferrari, who took the temperature among the presidential candidate's devoted fans.
Join Shelagh Fogarty, Jon Sopel, and our teams across the US for comprehensive election updates and analysis through the night on America Decides. Watch live on Global Player from 10pm on Tuesday.
Speaking with one attendee, Nick enquired why Reading resident Geoff came dressed as a garbage man.
“Because I have been called garbage, so I figured ‘why not go out and wear it,” Geoff said in response to recent comments about Puerto Rico.
"I’ve got thick skin, I don’t think it’s the right thing to say Every time they try to put him down, the people just come back even stronger."
The outfit follows a stunt that saw Trump clamber into a garbage truck as he attempted to shake off the backlash following slurs made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at his recent rally.
During the event last week, the controversial comic labelled Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage", before adding: "these Latinos, they love making babies".
Speaking to another Trump supporter at Monday night's rally - a first-time voter named James, Nick was told it was the Republican's “border policies” that tempted him away from voting Harris.
Despite the Mexico boarder being thousands of miles away from Reading, Pennsylvania, he said he takes into account “what can affect thousands of other Americans and not just myself”.
On the hunt for the mythical pro-Trump college bro
Mr Trump arrived traditionally late for the Reading rally in what can only be described as a semi-full stadium.
His supporters were kept entertained by a host of speakers, with Senator Marco Rubio and his former Secretary of State Mark Pompeo taking to the stage to name but a few.
And it's fair to say Trump delivered a rambling - and somewhat lacklustre speech that failed to land a serious punch.
Earlier in the day, LBC's Henry Riley descended on nearby Pennsylvania University in search of the mythical Trump "college bro".
This legendary category of Trump voter, made up of college-age men, forms a core part of the Republican's voting base.
Record numbers are said to be backing the former president, but could Henry track these key voters down ahead of the rally?
The answer was a resounding 'no' - but he did manage to find a Cleverly fan.
Failing to find a single Trump voter among male college students, Henry spoke with one voter, who said "a lot of men feel left out by the liberal-social policies - especially white men".
The undecided voter reiterated that this demographic feels "left out" and noted that policies and campaign slogans simply didn't "see" them.
"A lot of men feel that they have problems too," he said.
"And that's why I think they feel left out".