Trump does retail in final days before NH primary

TILTON, N.H. –– Donald Trump and his family of surrogates are fanning out across New Hampshire 48 hours before voters head to the polls, engaging in the kind of retail politics the candidate has largely eschewed in the run-up to the primary.

{mosads}Trump has been criticized for not holding town hall events or dropping into small-scale venues, the bread and butter of New Hampshire politics that his rivals have been feasting on for months.


Instead, Trump has flown in for the arena-sized rallies he’s become known for, often jetting back home to New York afterward.

But on Sunday morning, less than 12 hours after the final Republican debate before the first-in-the-nation primary, Trump and his entourage of Secret Service agents and aides surprised patrons at tiny Chez Vachon, a beloved hole-in-the-wall diner in Manchester.

He went table to table, making chit-chat with the diners and posing for selfies.

Afterward, Trump and his son, Eric Trump, campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, spokeswoman Hope Hicks and several others sat for breakfast. The restaurant is known for its five-pound plate of poutine, but Trump ordered a hot chocolate with whipped cream, scrambled eggs, sausage links, bacon and home fries.

Meanwhile, Trump’s son, Donald Trump, Jr., met with diners at breakfast spot in Tilton, N.H., about 35 miles north.

Trump, Jr.,  a far more natural retail politician than his father is, made his way around the Tilt’n Diner, charming breakfast-goers.

Trump planned to show up at the same diner shortly after his son.

“We’re dividing and conquering,” Trump, Jr. said. “We’re on about a half-hour rotation so there will be a whole new group of people by the time he gets here. We’re covering as much as we can.”

It’s part of a larger attempt by Trump and his campaign to battle criticism that he hasn’t made an effort to connect with voters on a personal level.

Trump’s rallies attract thousands of supporters, but his critics question whether he can turn the energy around his campaign into votes on Election Day.

Last week, Trump held three town-halls in New Hampshire, and also visited with the Manchester Police Department and a local business owner. Trump had to cancel a town hall his campaign had scheduled Friday because a snowstorm blocked his return flight into the state.

Following his retail stops, Trump will return to the environment where he’s most comfortable – the large-scale rally. Trump will host hundreds of supporters at a campaign rally at Plymouth State University in northern New Hampshire.

The billionaire businessman is the favorite to win Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary. He leads in the RealClearPolitics average of polls by 16 points over the next closest contender.