TUSCARORA — Looking dapper in a dark suit, white shirt and red tie, little Hunter Tirpak stepped out of his house around 4 a.m. on Wednesday.

A chauffeur in a luxury car awaited him and his mother for a trip to New York City.

By 8:30 a.m., the 2-year-old was before a national audience on "Fox and Friends," the morning show broadcast by Fox News.

Hunter has been getting the celebrity treatment since Monday night when Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hoisted the miniature look-a-like on stage in front of thousands of people at a rally at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township.

People around the country immediately dubbed him "Baby Trump."

Hunter's mother, Jessica Tirpak, said Hunter has been the lone person this election cycle to make almost everyone agree on something: Hunter's gimmick is cute.

"The response in regard to Baby Trump has definitely been a positive one. The feedback we've gotten from everyone — Democratic and Republican — is that Baby Trump is cute and they are happy to have a positive story in regards to the campaign. And they definitely want to see more stories like it," Tirpak said Wednesday night at the family's home in Tuscarora, a Schuylkill County town of 940 people between Hazleton and Pottsville.

Tirpak and her husband, Greg, bought and renovated the old St. Bertha's Church, where they live with their five children. They have several Trump signs in their yard, like many of their neighbors. Tirpak said she and her husband, as the owners of a small business, were early supporters of Trump and remain behind his candidacy.

They got the idea to dress Hunter as a mini Trump when the candidate announced his visit to the Mohegan Sun Arena in April prior to the primary election.

Hunter already had wavy, uncontrollable hair like Trump that "has a life of its own," she said.

At the April rally, Hunter proved to be a crowd favorite, Tirpak said.

"He would walk around to people and blow kisses, take selfies, and give handshakes," she recalled. "From that moment on I saw people smiling and it brightened the atmosphere."

On Monday, they were determined to have Trump see his mini-me. The family got into the arena early enough to get a spot on the floor in front of that stage, but far in the back. Feeling tired toward the end of the rally, they decided to make a final try to get Hunter noticed. Hunter's father put the boy on his shoulders and then hoisted him high in the air.

The crowd went crazy.

They created a path for Hunter to get closer to the stage so Trump could see. They started yelling "Bring him up," to get the candidate's attention.

Trump quickly obliged and brought Hunter to the microphone after a Secret Service officer handed the boy over.

"What's your name?" Trump asked. "Name," Hunter repeated.

"Now, he's supposed to look like Donald Trump, but he's actually much too good looking. You are really handsome," Trump said.

"Are you having a good time tonight?" Trump asked. "Night," Hunter said.

Trump then asked him one last question.

"Where's your daddy, and your mommy, right? Do you want to go back to them, or do you want to stay with Donald Trump?"

"Trump," Hunter parroted.

The crowd went wild again.

Tirpak said it was clear Hunter knew he was impersonating the billionaire businessman.

"He was mimicking him. He was playing copy cat," Tirpak said.

During a reporter's visit on Wednesday, Hunter wore the same suit he wore on stage — though it has been cleaned a few times after he got it messy during meals.

"He doesn't want to take it off," Tirpak said.

Tirpak even got him to say his new nickname, saying "Baby" and then "Trump" a few seconds later.

Hunter seemed more interested in watching YouTube videos and eating snacks when it was only a reporter at his house. But when a Citizens' Voice photographer and a crew from WBRE-TV arrived, he continually posed for the cameras and spoke into the television reporter's handheld microphone.

Tirpak said dressing Hunter like The Donald is innocent fun to inject some positivity into a negative campaign — as she would feel if someone dressed a child up as Hillary Clinton.

Plus, it's pretty cool to become a star at age 2, she said.

"This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He made a memory that will last a lifetime," Tirpak said. "It put little Tuscarora on the map."

With lots of negative stories about Trump in the news, this was a moment that allowed people to see a softer side of the man, she said.

"The fact Hunter went right to him and we have this cute national story says a lot about Donald Trump," Tirpak said.

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2055, @cvbobkal