By Richard Girard
Eagle Times Publisher
CLAREMONT, NH — As part of our coverage of former President Donald J. Trump’s visit to Claremont, we asked Mayor Dale Girard for his thoughts. Girard, a Democrat, was directly involved in the event as his company, Golden Cross Ambulance, provided emergency medical service coverage for the event.
He praised Claremont’s police and fire departments for their roles in providing security and fire protection. “Both departments did an outstanding job,” he said, noting the very large crowds that came to the city.
Girard said that Claremont has a long history of hosting presidential candidates at Stevens High School. He remembered Trump’s 2016 visit.
Asked what Trump’s visit meant for the city, Girard answered, “His visit spotlights our community and puts us on the local and national stage for the day and will help us, in some ways, with marketing our community to folks who generally would not be visiting Claremont.”
Asked about his general reaction to President Trump’s decision to come to Claremont, Girard responded, “As many recognize, President Trump is a polarizing individual. No other candidate has his appeal to draw this amount of energy to a community. This energy in our community is needed. The event brought folks from both sides of the political aisle. The individuals who came to our community provided an influx to our economy.”
All in all, Girard believed President Trump’s visit was good for Claremont.
“Hosting an event of this stature shows our community can accomplish anything,” he stated.
In addition to Trump’s event, former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have hosted campaign events in Claremont.
Ramaswamy and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have hosted events in Newport. Ramaswamy has also made a campaign stop in Plainfield. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and business mogul and pastor Ryan Binkley of Texas appeared in Charlestown at the Sullivan County Republican Committee’s annual dinner. Binkley has also campaigned in New London.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. appeared at events in Walpole, then running as a Democrat. Having left the Democrat Party, Kennedy is now seeking the presidency as an Independent candidate.
Visit the NH Primary page at www.EagleTimes.com for our coverage of New Hampshire’s First in the Nation Primary.
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