David Neild is no stranger to New Jersey. Neild grew up in Camden County, met his wife, and moved to Cumberland County, where he lived until he moved to the Smokey Mountains region of North Carolina, in 2018. When he heard President Donald Trump was bringing his “Keep America Great Rally” to the Wildwoods Convention Center on Tuesday, Neild decided he wanted to make the 10-hour drive to his old state to see the President.

Neild and thousands of others will be heading to Wildwood for the Jan. 28 presidential campaign rally that will see President Trump, Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd Congressional District), and others speak, aimed at galvanizing the Republican base not only in the southern New Jersey area but in surrounding states.

While early estimates said up to 40,000 would be attending, Van Drew said Sunday 100,000 tickets had been requested, however that figure can’t be independently verified. A Trump campaign spokeswoman told NJ Advance Media that it doesn’t comment on ticket numbers.

The now-North Carolinian Neild said he would be staying in Wildwood for the next three days because he did not want to miss a chance to see the President. To attempt to be one of the 7,400 people to be admitted into the venue, he will be in line at 3 a.m. Tuesday for a chance to get inside.

“The Wildwoods were my old stomping grounds when I was younger,” Neild said. “But having the President visit there is historic, and I want to be part of history. I want to support our President. This is an exciting time for New Jersey.”

Neild added he wants to not only witness history but show support to the 45th president.

“I did not vote for Obama, but I never once wanted him to fail because if he failed, the whole country would have failed. It is the same with Trump. People want him to fail so much, but he has not. Promises made, promises kept.”

Neild is not the only one making a long trek to the Cape May County shore town. In Facebook groups dedicated to the rally, people from as far away as Florida said they were coming up north. Also attending is Maria Cleary who lives in Warrington Township, Penn., approximately 45 minutes outside of Philadelphia. After being unable to attend the Trump rally in Hershey, Penn., she will be making the nearly three-hour drive to Wildwood with several friends. They plan to be in line as early as 4 a.m. to be with fellow Trump supporters who feel the same way as her.

“For the first time, in my adult life, I’m passionate about a President and his vision for our country, his vision to put all Americans regardless of race, creed, color, or religion first,” Cleary said. “I love that we have an unapologetically authentic President, a President who doesn’t speak in the delicate dialect of diplomacy but rather speaks to and stands up for the American Citizens whom he was elected to represent. It doesn’t bother me that our President isn’t always nice and is at times inartful when he speaks; he’s strong and decisive, exactly why I voted for him in 2016.”

Cleary added she would be proudly wearing her Trump hat because it symbolizes her belief that Trump supports the working class and other topics that were ignored in the 2016 election instead of hate.

“Like most other supporters of President Trump, I am so disheartened at continually hearing that our President, his messaging, his vision for America and his supporters represent hate,” Cleary said. “I know why I voted and continue to support President Trump. I know that my Trump hats do not represent hate, bigotry, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, or any other phobia. Voting for President Trump was a vote for change.”

Jerome “Cooch” Lucchese has a lot of experience traveling. The Brooklyn and Long Island, New York native who later became a Bronx police officer, teacher, and the tour manager for Twisted Sister for many years, will be traveling 231 miles from Lake Wallenpaupack in the Pocono Mountains area of Pennsylvania to a hotel in Cape May.

Lucchese, who had previously attended a rally in Wilkes Barre, Penn., when Trump was a presidential candidate, said the rally experience is a way for supporters to be with each other and see the person they are backing.

“It is just a massive amount of people all there for the same reasons,” Lucchese said. “They are all fans of President Trump and wanted to see him get elected. Now we want to see him get re-elected. There are a lot of good people there. There is no trouble and no problems, just an enjoyable time to listen and watch the president.”

Among the areas that Lucchese said the President was doing well were the economy, crime, and job development through manufacturing. Lucchese also said that he agrees with the job Trump was doing about immigration, an issue close that is close to him.

“My mom came to this country from Ireland on a boat and had nothing,” Lucchese said. “She made it in this country and had to check in regularly with immigration. She had to pass tests and jump through hoops to become a citizen of this country. She did not just run across a border and get handed everything on the backs of taxpayers.”

Chris Franklin can be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cfranklinnews or on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.

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