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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Graig Graziosi

Pictured: Trump backers treating ex-president as God-like figure before New York rally

Getty/AFP/EPA

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Some Donald Trump supporters in Uniondale, New York, have either embraced the “weird” label or haven’t gotten the memo to pivot away based on the strange and head-scratching items spotted in the crowd - with some picturing him as a God-like figure.

Trump’s Wednesday event is his second campaign rally since his second — albeit far less dramatic — assassination attempt on Sunday when a man was reportedly waiting for 12 hours in the woods with an AK-47 rifle near the former president’s Florida golf club.

The former president was whisked away by Secret Service personnel and the alleged would-be assassin, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was taken into custody by police.

Ahead of his Long Island visit, Trump took to Truth Social to toss their concerns aside and just vote for him.

“Hundreds of thousands of Migrants, Crime at record levels, Terrorists pouring in, Inflation eating your hearts out - WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE? VOTE FOR TRUMP!” he wrote.

Outside the Long Island rally, it was clear that many of Trump’s supporters didn’t need convincing; seas of red hats and Trump accessories made their devotion to the former president clear. Some went beyond even that, bringing signs and posters that potrayed Trump in a range of heroic roles, from a tough cowboy to a Christ-touched holy monarch. Here’s a glimpse of the scene outside the rally:

A large flag outside Donald Trump’s rally in Uniondale, New York, shows what appears to be Jesus Christ hugging or peeling back an American flag. Next to the flag is a version of the iconic image of Trump after his first assassination attempt with what appears to be some kind of winged creature — perhaps an angel — hovering in the air above him, with the words “God Has Another Plan” across the bottom (AP)
A Trump supporter stationed near a row of portable toilets holds a large poster depicting the former president — a 78-year-old man who struggles to drink water from a bottle — as a jacked, tatted-up and blinged-out hardbody with the words “it was God alone” forming a golden halo around his head. Rally attendees could apparently scan an attached QR code for a chance to win a Desert Eagle handgun (AFP via Getty Images)
A woman is fully decked-out in Trump gear while waiting to attend his rally. She’s sporting a Trump shirt, pants, purse, floppy cowboy hat and a big button of his grinning face on the hat’s crown (Getty Images)
A sea of Trump supporters in red hats outside his rally. One man shows off his long-time support of the former president with a Trump hat from his 2016 presidential run (Getty Images)
A young Trump fan is nearly engulfed by a huge banner depicting Trump reaching out to touch the hand of Jesus Christ. The deity is pictured clasping Trump’s shoulders. The words “strengthen him Lord” and “legions of angels protect him, Father” are visible on the banner. (Getty Images)
A pair of Trump supporters check out a “Jews for Trump” sequin jacket on sale outside the former president’s rally. The word “Jexit” — presumably a call for Jewish voters to abandon the Democratic party — adorns one of the sleeves (EPA)
Supporters of Trump wait for his rally to begin on Wednesda. Large posters next to the crowd portray Trump — who famously resided in a gilded New York penthouse between 1983 and 2019 — as a rough-and-tumble cowboy (Getty Images)
A massive, digital representation of Donald Trump looms high above a small group of his supporters before his campaign rally. The rally is Trump’s second since his apparent second assassination attempt on Sunday (Getty Images)
A man decked out in a cowboy hat and a jacket sporting the iconic post-assassination attempt photo of Trump with the words “God saves Trump, Trump saves America” across the back helps another man unfurl a massive flag during a campaign rally (Getty Images)
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