Colorado Springs, Colorado: Big crowds still mob Donald Trump when he comes to town, with fans waiting in long lines to attend his rallies, where they eagerly jeer his Democratic rival and holler happily at his message.
But beneath the cheering, a new emotion is taking hold among some Trump supporters as they grapple with reports predicting that he will lose the election: a dark fear about what will happen if their candidate is denied the White House. Some worry that they will be forgotten, along with their concerns and frustrations. Others believe the nation may be headed for violent conflict.
Jared Halbrook, 25, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, said that if Trump lost to Hillary Clinton, which he worried would happen through a stolen election, it could lead to “another Revolutionary War.”
“People are going to march on the capitols,” said Halbrook, who works at a call centre. “They’re going to do whatever needs to be done to get her out of office, because she does not belong there.”
“If push comes to shove,” he added, and Clinton “has to go by any means necessary, it will be done.”
Interviews with more than 50 Trump supporters at campaign events in six states over the past week revealed a distinct change from the rollicking mood earlier this year, when Trump’s surprising primary successes and emergence as an unconventional Republican standard-bearer set off broad excitement. The crowds appeared on edge and quick to lash out.
And while some voters emphatically disputed polls suggesting that Clinton would win, others offered an apocalyptic vision of what life would be like if she did.
“It’s not what I’m going to do, but I’m scared that the country is going to go into a riot,” said Roger Pillath, 75, a retired teacher from Coleman, Wisconsin. “I’ve never seen the country so divided, just black and white — there’s no compromise whatsoever. The Clinton campaign says together we are stronger, but there’s no together. The country has never been so divided. I’m looking at revolution right now.”
Julie Olson, a rancher who showed up for a Trump rally in Colorado Springs, said that she and her husband had been through rough economic times in recent years and that a Trump loss would worsen their burdens.
“I’d probably go into a depression, because life is hard enough for us right now,” Olson, 69, said. “And if Hillary gets in, it’s going to be a whole lot worse — income, lack of income, small business, large businesses.”
New York Times reporters spoke to people attending Trump rallies in Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In every crowd, there were supporters who echoed Trump’s message that the polls did not reflect the “silent majority” who they said would turn out on November 8 and elect him in a landslide.
“You go through any neighbourhood and see how many Trump signs there are and how many Hillary signs there are, and I guarantee you it’s not even going to be close,” said Bill Stelling, 44, of Jacksonville, Florida. “The only way they’ve done it is by rigging the election.”
An information diet from Trump-friendly outlets like Breitbart News and Infowars has led many to believe that there is no way Trump can lose and that even contemplating the possibility is foolish. “I’d be shocked,” said Rick Hill, 58, of Fort Myers, Florida.
Hill added, “If you get on social media, he’s got Hillary beat 3 to 1.”
But others expressed unease about what a Trump loss would bring.
“Unfortunately, I’m not a man of vigilante violence,” said Richard Sabonjohn, 48, of Naples, Florida. “I’m more of a peaceful person. But I do think there will be a large amount of people that are terribly upset and may take matters into their own hands.”
Trump has repeatedly called the election “rigged”, raised concerns about voter fraud and said he might not accept the results if he loses, making Democrats and Republicans alike worry whether the transfer of power will be smooth.
Even some of his supporters who say they would peacefully accept Clinton as the next president fear that the nation will take a violent turn — especially if Clinton tries to infringe on Second Amendment rights.
Paul Swick, 42, who owns a moving business, went with his wife and daughter to see Trump speak in Green Bay last week. Swick considers himself a “Bible Christian” and “Thomas Jefferson liberal” and said he hoped to beat Clinton “at the ballot box.”
But Swick, by his own estimation, also owns “north of 30 guns,” and he said Clinton would have trouble if she tried to confiscate the nation’s constitutionally protected weapons. (Clinton has said she supports the Second Amendment, but she favours certain restrictions, like tighter background checks for gun buyers.)
“If she comes after the guns, it’s going to be a rough, bumpy road,” Swick said. “I hope to God I never have to fire a round, but I won’t hesitate to. As a Christian, I want reformation. But sometimes reformation comes through bloodshed.”
