Hundreds of Trump supporters have packed into the National Guard armory in Lawrenceville for the rally to help Gov. Chris Christie. Watch video
LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP -- Hundreds of Donald Trump supporters have descended on the National Guard armory in this Mercer County suburb Thursday night to see the presumptive Republican presidential nominee hold his first campaign rally in New Jersey.
And at the same time, hundreds of protesters gathered in a park across the street to voice their detest.
The event is the first Trump rally that isn't free. Tickets are $200, with the proceeds going to help New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Trump supporter and possible vice president pick, pay off debt from his own presidential campaign. (Student tickets are $25.)
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But even if the crowd is smaller, it's still fervent. At least a third of the audience donned Trump's trademark red "Make America Great" again hats as they waited for him to speak at 7 p.m.
"He's a businessman," a Pennington real estate agent who goes by the name "Jersey Jane" said while entering the rally. "He knows what the bottom line is. He isn't just going to spend money."
Joseph Weber, a retired Newark police officer who volunteers for Trump's campaign, said "America needs a steep change."
"It's not personal," he said. "It's just business."
As for the controversy Trump has drawn by calling for the U.S. to build a wall across the country's Mexican border to stem illegal immigration and for the nation to temporally ban Muslims from entering to protect against possible terrorism? Weber expresses a view that many Trump supporters have: The liberal press is to blame.
"That's the media blowing things out of proportion," he said.
Hunter Vogel said he likes Trump for a one reason: The 17-year-old from Annandale is headed to West Point to train for the Army.
"I want a commander-in-chief who protects us," Vogel said. "Someone I can trust to protect us."
Inside the armory, the supporters who gathered in front of Trump's podium randomly began chanting: "Build the wall! Build the wall!"
The podium itself is adorned with a site-specific sign: "Greetings from New Jersey," the logo reads, in a nod to Bruce Springsteen's debut album.
The protestors outside said Trump goes against the values of the diverse, largely Democratic state.
Some of their signs read: "No hate in the Garden State." "I love us too much to let Trump win." "You can't comb over bigotry."
Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of environmental group the Sierra Club, said he finds it ironic that Christie is raising money for his unsuccessful campaign when it was revealed this week that New Jersey's budget is facing a shortfall.
"That says it all," Tittel said.
Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, said protesting the rally was important because "bad things happen when people remain silent."
Paul Anthony, 18, helped organize a coalition of dozens of students from nearby Lawrence High School to speak out against Trump.
"He's a racist, bigoted, homophobic, anti-Semite," said Anthony, who is voting for the first time this fall and supports Democratic contender Bernie Sanders.
And not everyone there was from New Jersey. Joan Allen drove 2 1/2 hours from Bronxville, N.Y., to hold a sign near the entrance of the armory that read: "Fools love Trump."
She noted she's a Republican who supported Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the last GOP contender to drop out of the race.
"I don't want him to hijack our country," Allen said of Trump. "I don't care about my party."
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.