The South Portland High School student who says he was ostracized by classmates and teachers for wearing a Donald Trump hat in school reveled in the Republican presidential nominee’s appearance Thursday, sitting in a row of supporters behind the candidate during his speech at Merrill Auditorium in Portland.
“People were trying to silence me,” Connor Mullen said of the taunts he received for wearing his “Make America Great Again” hat at school. “Now, I’m sitting five feet from the man, so I’m not so silent now.”
Mullen, 16, was clearly visible just left of Trump on the stage during the hourlong speech.
Mullen said a member of the Maine Republican Party and someone from the Trump campaign arranged for him to join Trump on stage with other supporters.
Mullen, who wore his red and white pro-Trump hat to the rally, said he was introduced to Trump before it began.
“He looked me in the face and said, ‘I won’t forget about you and I look forward to seeing you on stage,'” the junior said Thursday night in a telephone interview.
After the rally, Mullen posed with Trump for a selfie, wearing his hat.
Mullen, who plans to continue wearing his Trump hat to school, was impressed with his candidate’s speech.
“I thought it was the presidential Donald Trump and not the Donald Trump who tends to get people riled up,” he said. “His tone, his voice, was perfect.”
Mullen thinks Trump has been advised to tone down his rhetoric.
Noting Trump’s focus and poise, he called the experience “breathtaking.”
As for the classmates who taunted him about the Trump hat, Mullen has a message for them.
“In a weird way, thank you. I got a giant experience out of it, but I’d say please don’t do it again, to anyone,” he said.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.