Donald Trump’s rally in Hialeah, Florida, will begin just an hour before the third Republican primary debate is set to take place in nearby Miami.
Supporters of the former president began queueing before dawn on Wednesday, more than 12 hours before Mr Trump was set to take the stage at around 7pm at the Ted Hendricks Stadium in Henry Milander Park.
Considering the average lengths of Mr Trump’s meandering campaign speeches, it’s possible he’s still talking as his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination take the stage at 8pm at the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.
Parking and the lines to enter the rally venue were set to open at 8am with doors to the stadium opening up at 2pm and guest speakers beginning to appear on stage at about 6pm, CBS News notes.
Mr Trump has a massive lead over his competitors in the Republican primary, with Mr Trump having 56.5 per cent support in the average of national GOP primary polls as of 7 November put together by FiveThirtyEight.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is at 13.9 per cent while former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley comes in at nine per cent.
Trump backer Sharon Anderson told CBS News that what the candidates say on stage won’t make a difference to the race.
“Thousands, millions across the country are behind him and we’re going to be behind him until he says he’s finished, and I don’t see that happening,” she told the network.
Kimulita Mann was waiting for Mr Trump’s arrival in Hialeah on Wednesday morning, telling CBS: “I’ve been here since yesterday. I got to support my President Donald Trump. I love him. I love Melania. I love the family. They stand for America, they fight for America, they fight for us.”
Mr Trump’s rally comes after he took the stand in his civil fraud trial in New York, where his testimony devolved into name-calling and the kind of aggressive rhetoric he uses on the trail, so much so that the judge reminded him that he wasn’t there to give a campaign speech.
The former president, facing accusations that he overvalued his assets to gain favourable loans and insurance agreements, lashed out at the judge who has already found him guilty of fraud and who’s now set to decide how large a penalty the Trump Organization must pay. New York Attorney General Letitia James has also called for Mr Trump to be banned from doing business in the Empire State.
“I’m sure the judge will rule against me, he always rules against me,” Mr Trump said of Judge Arthur Engoron.
