It was hot in Mills River, North Carolina.
Early morning cloud had cleared allowing the blazing sun to shine on the open, unshaded yard of a farm produce packaging facility.
Members of the media grumbled about the heat as jackets were removed and sun screen applied, but the crowd that had gathered for the day's events didn't care.
They were there to see Donald Trump and they didn't mind that the US president was running two hours late.
He had made an unscheduled stop at the Republican National Convention in nearby Charlotte, North Carolina, to thank delegates who had just nominated him to be the party's candidate for president.
Trump will make his formal acceptance speech tonight from the White House but on Monday he took to the stage in front of Republican delegates eager to get a taste of a traditional convention at a time when Covid-19 had made it impossible to have packed arenas with balloons and confetti falling from the ceiling.
Trump thrives in front of a live audience. When his speeches are read from autocues in empty rooms they can be flat and lacking in energy. When he is on a rally stage surrounded by cheering crowds, it is a very different performance.
The US president can't have big rallies these days but he came close in Mills River.
Supporters were seated on socially-distanced chairs but they took to their feet when the presidential seal was placed on the podium on the stage, a signal that Donald Trump's address was just minutes away.
The crowd erupted in cheers as Trump was introduced and his signature campaign rally song 'God Bless the USA' played on the speakers.
He spoke for around 20 minutes and left. It was a long day of waiting, queuing, security screening and temperature checks for a 20 minute speech but for Trump's supporters it was worth it.
They love him.
The Trump base
The controversies, scandals and offensive comments that shock his critics and enrage his opponents only serve to endear him further to his base.
Lindi Jo Rettig had come to Mills River to hear Trump speak and said she believed he had his finger on the pulse of America.
"Some people say he's a little too outspoken but he's saying exactly what I would probably say. I would like to see law, order and decency restored to this country and I believe in him one hundred per cent", she said.
Lindi Jo also defended Trump's handling of the coronavirus.
"Only God can end a pandemic, not any politician and to claim they can is foolish. We can try to control it and take precautions," she said.
But what about the fact that Donald Trump had arranged this crowded campaign event during a pandemic?
"People are in the street rioting and looting. If you can go riot, loot or stand in line at a Walmart then you can come out to vote and come to support Donald Trump," she replied.
Michael Loomis was wearing a blue Trump/Pence t-shirt and praised the US president's response to the recent wave of racial unrest and protests.
"He will keep law and order in America. We have a real crisis right now with Democrats letting the cities burn," he said.
Michael Lyons was wearing a 'Make America Great Again' hat signed by Donald Trump and a Republican Party face mask. He highlighted the US president's 'America First' policy of protecting US jobs and industries.
"He believes in the strength that was and is America and he is for good and healthy trade with our neighbours," he said.
Donald Trump and Ireland
In recent times, Ireland has been a target of Donald Trump's 'America First' rhetoric.
Earlier this month, his top trade adviser Peter Navarro described Ireland as a "tax haven" that was "punching very high above its weight" in the pharmaceutical sector because of its low taxes.
In May, Trump vowed to bring US pharmaceutical manufacturing back to the US, making specific reference to Ireland.
When asked about the US's dependency on drug manufacturing in China, he said: "It's not only China, you take a look at Ireland. They make our drugs. Everybody makes our drugs except us."
"We're bringing that whole supply chain back," he added.
Donald Trump does speak with fondness about Ireland during St Patrick's Day meetings in the Oval Office and when referring to his golf resort in Doonbeg.
In June 2019, he visited Co Clare and the trip highlighted what a polarising figure Mr Trump can be.
Locals in Doonbeg celebrated his arrival, while protesters gathered in Shannon and Dublin.
A visit to Doonbeg by the US Vice President Mike Pence in September last year sparked controversy in Ireland and the US but for very different reasons.
In Ireland, there was a sense that Mr Pence had failed to voice support for Ireland's Brexit position. In the US, there was anger that he had used American taxpayers' money to stay at a Trump resort.
An 'honest' politician?
Whether it is trade, the Iran Nuclear Deal or the Paris Climate Accord, the Trump Campaign and his supporters will frequently claim that he is a president who has kept his promises during his first term and is "draining the swamp".
Voters backing him often describe him using words like honest and honourable.
Critics would question such descriptions pointing to the infamous 'Access Hollywood' tapes or the payments of hush money to women.
There are questions too over his business dealings before he became president with multiple investigations and court battles relating to his financial affairs.
Donald Trump likes to boast that he made his billions on his own with just a one million dollar loan from his father Fred, but in her recent tell-all book, his niece Mary claimed the president received millions in bailouts from her grandfather to rescue him from various business failures.
The TV president
Despite bankruptcies, Donald Trump was always a master at courting the media and portraying himself as the ultimate success story.
He was famous in the US long before he became president with best-selling books, frequent TV appearances and cameo roles in movies.
His hit TV show 'The Apprentice' propelled him to even greater fame. As president he could well have appeared on 'Survivor'.
Donald Trump weathered scandals that would destroy other politicians. From impeachment to the Mueller Report he is the ultimate survivor but it was to be his handling of the coronavirus that hit the president hard in the opinion polls.
Regular Covid-19 media briefings became problematic for a president who at times seemed more concerned with the prime time TV ratings the press conferences generated than the messages he was trying to convey.
His predecessor Barack Obama attacked Donald Trump during his address last week to the Democratic National Convention accusing him of treating the presidency as one more reality show to get the attention he craves.
This week it is the turn of the Republicans to hold their convention and Donald Trump has drafted in his television producer friends to help choreograph the virtual event.
A second season?
Donald Trump is behind in the opinion polls but Democrats may well have been disappointed that, despite a strong performance, Joe Biden doesn't seem to have received a post-convention boost in his ratings.
The gap between the two candidates has narrowed and there is still two months to go to election day.
Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016 by a tiny margin in a handful of swing states.
After four years, lots of his supporters are still willing to stand for hours in the blazing North Carolina sun, but will it be enough to help this TV president secure a second season?
