SCRANTON, Pa. — Scranton police have been at the Scranton Cultural Center all morning, a Fox News satellite truck has been parked outside since Tuesday, there's now a tent set up to screen attendees as they enter, and a city plow truck is blocking off the road from cars.
Several streets around the Scranton Cultural Center are closed beginning at noon, others are closing at 2 p.m.
There's also plenty of parking restrictions vine street usually quite a busy street for parking doesn't have a single car parked on it.
Lackawanna College, near the venue, is closed all day, as is the Scranton Public Library and the Children's Library.
Ticketholders have already been lining up since 10:30 a.m. for the 6:30 p.m. event, just want to make sure they get the best seat in the house.
"Oh, I wanted to make sure I got as close as I possibly could. I love our president and I love the Republican party and I love everything he stands for," said Mary Noldy of Dunmore. "I'm not budging."
"Because I wanted ideal seating to be in close proximity to the President of the United States. That's the only reason, that would be my goal," said Ronald Knapp of Nanticoke.
Some people standing outside for hours didn't even get a ticket to the event. They came just to witness the action, some drove for hours hoping to catch even just a glimpse of the president.
"I'm from like two hours away," said Anthony Scaturro of Lebanon, Pennsylvania. "Just to watch this and see everything and to see if I can see a motorcade or something."
"Because he's Donald Trump. I can't say anything more than that," said Mount Pocono resident Michael Reardon.
But people also came to ask him questions and have him address their concerns.
"Keeping the coronavirus at bay, and what attempts he's making for that to be stifled, so it doesn't run rampant throughout our country," Knapp said.
"I would love to hear about the opioid crisis. That's important to me. I would like to hear about the inheritance tax," said Honesdale resident Suzie Frisch. "Infrastructure, our roads in Wayne County are horrendous."
Politics and policies aside, both attendees and bystanders agree it's not every day that a sitting president visits your city.
"I think it's exciting just to see people gathered for something in common, you know? People have mixed feelings about him but with all respect, he is our president and it's exciting to see him come," said University of Scranton freshman Nicolas Shiarappa.
The live televised town hall begins at 6:30 p.m. on the Fox News Channel.
Air Force One is expected to arrive at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport around 5:30 p.m.