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Despite Campaign Stumbles By Their Candidate, Trump Fans Remain Loyal

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Our colleague, Sam Sanders, has been covering Trump this week. He spoke to supporters at a rally in Florida last night.

SAM SANDERS, BYLINE: You might think Trump supporters are pretty down right now. Well, you're wrong. The Trump fans I talked to this week have few problems or concerns with his campaign. I heard things like this. So what do you make of the polls that show Trump down?

LUCY ORLANDO: Don't worry about that. That's a fake.

SANDERS: The polls are fake?

ORLANDO: That's a fake.

SANDERS: That's Lucy Orlando. She was at Trump's Fort Lauderdale rally last night. Another Trump supporter there, Cindy Lancione, she defended Trump's Second Amendment comments from earlier this week, even as many said his words appeared to call for violence against Hillary Clinton.

CINDY LANCIONE: I don't believe that crap. I don't believe that. I saw it. They put a spin on it. He doesn't mean half the things people think he means.

SANDERS: This is what lots of Trump supporters were saying last night. The polls are wrong. The media are wrong. Trump is right, and Trump will win. But beneath this confidence, there's a big question facing Trump and his supporters. Given the current state of the race, should Trump change his style at all?

CHRISTINE MANCINI: I think he's inflammatory.

SANDERS: You do think he's inflammatory?

MANCINI: I think he's inflammatory, but I think it's a purpose.

SANDERS: That's Christine Mancini, and she says Trump got this far by saying things that make your ears perk up.

MANCINI: So if he was going to come and try to draw 20,000 people to an event and he recited the Constitution, he'd have 300 people come.

SANDERS: But several Trump supporters also said it wouldn't hurt for him to tone it down a bit, to focus. Again, Cindy Lancione.

You're in a room with Trump. You've got his ear. What do you say to him?

LANCIONE: Just settle down. You're going to make it. Settle down.

SANDERS: You think he'll settle down?

LANCIONE: Yeah, I do.

SANDERS: Maybe he will. Maybe he won't. Last night, Trump was on fire. At one point, he called Barack Obama the founder of ISIS.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DONALD TRUMP: And I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton.

SANDERS: Trump also took time to address criticism of his tone.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton said, I don't like his tone. See, I don't like her temperament because her temperament is the temperament of a loser.

SANDERS: Trump went on to say, quote, "we need a tough temperament." It'd be safe to assume he's talking about his own. Sam Sanders, NPR News, Fort Lauderdale. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Sam worked at Vermont Public Radio from October 1978 to September 2017 in various capacities – almost always involving audio engineering. He excels at sound engineering for live performances.
Sam Sanders
Sam Sanders is a correspondent and host of It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders at NPR. In the show, Sanders engages with journalists, actors, musicians, and listeners to gain the kind of understanding about news and popular culture that can only be reached through conversation. The podcast releases two episodes each week: a "deep dive" interview on Tuesdays, as well as a Friday wrap of the week's news.