Faithful arrive for Trump rally

Aug. 20—They are the faithful — the first to arrive, the ones you can count on to be in the front row at any Donald J. Trump Rally. Richard Snowden, from Hornell, N.Y., has been to 75 Trump rallies. The one in Cullman Saturday will be his 76th. It's the first one he's been to in Alabama and the 27th state he's visited to see the 45th president of the United States speak.

"I got involved in politics in 1960 and went on the trail in 1963 and the rest, as they say, is history," said Snowden, who arrived at the York Family Farm for the Trump rally on Thursday. "I've met nine presidents, two in the White House."

He began going to Trump campaign events before the reality star became the Republican nominee. "In the early days, Trump would come down and meet us all," he said.

Now, he and the other supporters who make up the "Front Row Joes," get to see the former president from their vantage point up close to the stage. Snowden said he and the other die-hard supporters have formed a bond. "We've made dozens and dozens of friendships attending the rallies with other people," he said.

While the group has been spending most of their days since arriving in Cullman under a tent at the York property, greeting visitors, selling Trump fans and visiting with each other, they've also discovered some Cullman staples like the Busy Bee and All-Steak.

They come from all over — Indiana, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Michigan. Mike Boatman, from Evanston, Ind., was the first to arrive in Cullman on Sunday. He said Alabama and Cullman County's low vaccination rate and high number of COVID-19 cases didn't concern him.

"I'm not worried about it," he said. "I'm not going to live my life in fear."

Boatman said he'd always voted in elections but had never been to a political rally until Trump ran for president. He noted the loyalty of Trump supporters, saying that at the rally in Sarasota, Fla., it rained for three hours prior to the rally, and no one left.

"People love Trump," he said. "This is Trump Country right here."

This is the 20th Trump rally for Sharon Anderson of Etowah, Tenn. She even spoke at one, taking the stage when Eric Trump unexpectedly asked her to come up and say a few words. Her remarks that night, March 2, 2020 in Charlotte, N.C. went viral.

"That was the most memorable night of my life," she said.

The die-hard Trump fan has a cot equipped with a tent-like cover she camps out on prior to the rallies. "It's the best thing," she said.

Some of the Front Row Joes said they'd never voted before Trump ran for president. Many, like Anderson and Boatman, said they'd voted but that was the extent of their political activity.

"I'd never been involved in politics until he came down the escalator and I said, 'that's my president,'" said Anderson.