“They’re calling it the summer of Trump,” Donald Trump boasted Friday to a packed rally at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, New Hampshire, a few days before the release of a new CNN/ORC poll showing him more than ten points ahead of the rest of the GOP field. Photographer M. Scott Brauer trained the camera on the crowd of nearly 2,000 that turned out to see the candidate. About 750 souls crammed into the high-school auditorium, while another 1,000 stuffed themselves into the cafeteria to watch a stream of the candidate’s speech. Trump’s campaign said he would address both crowds in person — which he did — but the candidate kept assuring the auditorium they’d get the better version because they had snatched up the prime real estate.
The audience spans all ages, from young kids to senior citizens, though the faces are mostly — well, pretty much entirely — white. The attendees look energetic and excited and just a little bit starstruck. They came to see, as one spectator told Brauer, “the celebrity of the Republican Party.” —Jen Kirby
