President Trump coming to New Hampshire for campaign rally

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Thousands are expected to come out and attend President Donald Trump's rally for re-election in    Manchester, New Hampshire on Thursday night.

The event kicks off Thursday night at Southern New Hampshire University Arena at 7 p.m. The police chief tells Boston 25 News they'll have extra security around the area and his officers will be keeping a close eye on both protesters and supporters.

"We understand that there is free speech but we have to make sure that people are not going to cross that line – at the point where they do cross the line as I stated it’s going to be zero tolerance," said Chief Carlo Capano.

Capano says his officers will immediately stop and protests or behavior that gets out of hand. He says safety is a top priority with crowds this big.

"We always have to prepare for those types of events that may happen you see vehicles being used as weapons so we prepare for that now but that’s just this time and age, that’s what we’re up against and that’s what we prepare for," said Capano.

Supporters started making their way to New Hampshire from other states as early as Thursday evening and many camped out in line overnight.

President Trump lost New Hampshire to Hillary Clinton in 2016 by around 27,000 votes. The Granite State has gone Democratic in the last four presidential elections, but New Hampshire voters could feel differently in 2020.

A new poll shows 42 percent of NH residents approve of President Trump, while 53 percent disapprove.

When it comes to the economy, 49 percent approve of the president's handling of the economy while 44 percent disapprove.

"We can’t just win, we need a landslide, we need to get everything back in the favor so he can take the next four years and really do what he’s capable of, you haven’t seen anything yet in comparison to where he can take this country," said Michael.

Protesters also gathered across the street.

"We certainly welcome politicians to come in and have a rally and say whatever it is about their agenda, their positions, but we do not welcome the hatred," said Carol.

The group says they don't agree with how the president gets his message across, but supporters say what's dividing this country is the lack of respect for the president.

"We’re all Americans, that should be everybody’s message, none of this negativity," said Michael.

Road closures will begin at 2 p.m. If you will be driving in the area, you'll want to be patient and give yourself extra time for traffic.

>> President Trump New Hampshire visit: Road closures

If you're not attending, you can watch the campaign rally on Boston 25 NOW, which you can get on your smartphone or Roku, Amazon Fire, or Apple TV.

Cox Media Group