Analysis: 1News US correspondent Logan Church reports from Republican nominee Donald Trump's first rally after his attempted assassination last week.
The streets around Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, are crowded with MAGA faithful. The arena itself seats about 12,000 people, but they all filled up long ago, with some people waiting hours to see the former US president.
Those unable to get in have gathered in clusters, around the front of the arena, watched by mounted police and local sheriffs.
All of them have their cell phones out, streaming Donald Trump’s speech inside.
Someone put a Bluetooth speaker down next to us – about 30 people crowd around it, clapping loudly when Trump says he will “Make America Great Again” or booing loudly when he says “crooked Joe Biden”.
The last time Trump held a rally like this, he was almost assassinated. An attendee died protecting his family. Others were injured, including the former president.
But that hasn’t put anyone here off coming.
It’s made them more determined than ever.
“I had a family camping trip that we're doing right now and we dropped all our plans,” one man told me as he waited in line to enter the stadium.
“We had to make sure that we were going to see our president.”
I then started talking to an army veteran, Garth, who told me he was gravely concerned about the state of the country.
“I just like Donald Trump and everything he stands for,” he said.
“Biden's old, decrepit. I’m not trying to dog on the old man, but he was a politician his whole entire life – never had a normal job.
“Here in Michigan, all we do is work.”
Garth told me it was getting harder to look after his family – taking them all out to McDonald's recently cost about NZ$160.
“We need somebody like Trump, where the world's gonna fear him.”
All were also very aware of how close Trump was to losing his life last weekend.
“I think that's God – I think God played a part in that to where he moved his head, and it saved him,” said one young man who came up to us, asking to speak to me.
“Democratic or Republican, we are not supposed to kill each other for what we believe in.”
Further back in the line, people were busy buying Trump merchandise that’s always sold at these events (I’m getting to know some of the vendors now).
Almost everyone had a variation of the MAGA hat on their head.
“Our country is not in a good place right now,” said another rallygoer.
“We want somebody that will come in and unite us and get rid of the hate and fix our problems, our inflation, our border crisis – all the things.
“We're here to be with a bunch of people that support America.”
I’ve now spent a good week in the Republican hive mind. It’s a party filled with people who work hard, and want the best for their country.
They are also people who take whatever comes out of Trump’s mouth as gospel, despite the fact that he's a recidivist liar, convicted felon, and attacked the heart of American democracy by declaring – without an ounce of proof – that the last election was “stolen” from him.
It’s not a particularly new or creative claim from American politicians over the past couple of hundred years – but Republicans today believe him.
They hate American news (made very clear by a young man shouting in my face as I was speaking live on Q+A with Jack Tame).
And they think the Democrats are ruining their country (made even more clear by a pro-Biden supporter picking a fight with Republicans standing next to me, again as I was speaking live on Q+A – sorry for all the swearing).
Meanwhile, Democrats believe it’s the Republicans who are ruining this country. They believe Donald Trump is no saviour, and is just a man out for power and wealth.
As we head into the final stage of this election, a middle ground seems harder and harder to find.
SHARE ME