Average Trump
RIO RANCHO—Donald Trump came to New Mexico again.
And while many of the themes and images punctuating the atmosphere that hovered over the president's visit here Monday mirrored those from a 2016 campaign rally in Albuquerque, the air was decidedly less electric.
There was no shortage of the ubiquitous red MAGA hat outside the Santa Ana Star Center as thousands waited to glimpse Trump either inside the venue or on a massive Jumbotron set up just south of the entrance.
Even Trump's speech didn't veer far from the hits—Republicans good, Democrats evil, news media fake—though it was tailored to his New Mexico audience in spots. To cheers, the president raked in credit for the state's recent economic turnaround, largely on the back of an oil and gas boom. He offered a salad of statistics, some of them approximating accuracy, others wildly exaggerated, but didn't mention how either the White House or the Trump Organization have helped turn extractives into cash for the state.
But the night never bubbled over.