"By the end of the night, when we come out of that rally, we'll be friends for life," Thom said of the others gathered in front of the arena. "We have to fire him back up to refuel him, to let him know that yes, we love him, we stand with him."

By 8 a.m., many Trump supporters from Billings, Park City, Bridger and other nearby areas had joined the line.

Park City cousins Monte and Ben Shorten arrived early to see a commander in chief they believe has already lived up to his campaign promise to focus on strengthening the economy. Monte, 49, said he's seen the effect of Trump's economic agenda firsthand as a heavy-equipment truck driver.

"All of a sudden, we've been busier since he's been in office," he said.

Ben, a 38-year-old business owner, agreed, but noted he's not entirely sold on one of the president's signature achievements, a package of federal tax cuts passed last year.

"I'm waiting for tax season to see how it turns out for small businesses," he said. "I'm not sure, but I'm waiting to see."

But aside from some mild critiques of Trump's first 21 months in office, most of those in line had nothing but praise for him.