John Russell spent the night in downtown Davenport, sleeping in his 2021 Nissan Altima.
Former president Donald Trump is to give a speech Monday on his "America First Education Policy," and there was no way Russell, 51, would miss it. He drove two hours from Aurora, Illinois, to camp out in Davenport for Trump's first visit to the Iowa since he announced his bid for the GOP nomination.
The rally is at the Adler Theatre, 136 E. 3rd St., Davenport. Doors open at 3 p.m., and the program begins at 5:30 p.m., with Trump scheduled to speak at 6:15 p.m.
Russell was standing on 3rd Street in a black hoodie emblazoned with the words "Ultra MAGA" at 7 a.m. Sunday morning. He was back at 6 a.m. Monday morning, and by 9:30 a.m. he was joined by eight other die-hard Trump supporters.
An hour later, there were close to 20 people gathered outside the entrance doors roughly a half block from the Adler.
"I drove from Aurora, got my chair set up so I was first in line, and then I parked my car over in that little lot on 3rd Street, across from Ruby's," said Russell, who works long days as a bulk unloader and used vacation time to attend the rally.
"I had a nice day on Sunday. My Altima is a 2021 and it's nice and warm and I had my tablet, so I was entertained. And I had a great meal at Ruby's. I highly recommend the reuben sandwich," he said. "I love coming to the rallies. This is my fifth."
Russell ticked off his first four: Quincy, Ill., Dayton and Youngstown, both in Ohio, and Warren, Michigan.
"I support and love the greatest president there ever was, President Donald Trump," he said. "And the rest of the people here love him too."
Russell was hanging out with Jonas Nass, who hails from Stillwater, Minn. He drove the 343 miles to Davenport and was second in line. It is his 11th Trump rally.
"I believe Trump won the 2020 election — we all believe that," Nass said. "It comes down to this: There is no way (President Joe) Biden got 80 million votes. (President Barack) Obama and (2016 Democratic nominee Hillary) Clinton didn't get that many votes. There is no way Biden got that many votes."
Russell repeated the oft-debunked claim that "dead people voted for Biden."
Both Russell and Nass remained good-natured throughout the conversation. Both said they love the Trump rallies, because it's an opportunity to "be around people who think like you and know the truth."
Bettendorf residents Steve and Jodie McGuire were among the hardcore first eight in line Monday. They wore blazers screen printed with Trump's face.
The McGuires might be called Trump's road dogs, with 35 rallies now under their distinctive blazers. They've been to places like New Hampshire, Kentucky and North Dakota.
"It's the people," Steve McGuire said. "Jodie and I meet so many nice, friendly people.
"We just enjoy spending time with all these folks. It's why we showed up early in the cold. We could have stayed home and waited, but we wanted to be out here and share all this with these people."
Trump's visit comes on the heels of a Davenport stop last week by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who also is expected to make a bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
Russell didn't mind speaking out about DeSantis. He rejected him as a candidate, citing the Florida governor's connection to "globalists" — a flexible conspiracy theory that labels a wide array of people as part of a cabal bent on world domination.
"Jeb Bush supports DeSantis, and Jeb takes (George) Soros money," he said. "They both take Zionist money and globalist money."
Russell insisted he is not anti-Semitic, though Soros and "the Zionists" are frequent scapegoats in far-right and Nazi narratives.
"I love Israel and love all people," Russell said. "I would never support anyone who is anti-Semitic."
Meet those who were first in line to hear Trump
John Russell was the first in line Monday morning near the Adler Theater. He spent the night in his Nissan to see Donald Trump.
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