“This is the candidate America deserves,” said Jeff DeFlavio, 29, a small business owner registered as an independent in the nearby town of Lebanon. He said he plans to vote for Trump in the primary, but adds, “His immigration policy is disgusting to me. It’s absolutely revolting … I really don’t want him to become president ever. Ever. He would destroy the world, which is what’s so wonderful about him.”

DeFlavio said he has enjoyed watching Trump exploit a presidential-selection process that rewards celebrity more than substance. “There is this kind of wonderful irony in it, which I feel myself wanting to partake in,” he said…

On the Dartmouth College campus, a center of both mischief and political activity in the state, the idea has currency. “Voting for Donald Trump would make for great times. It would be great times,” said rising junior Charlie Lundquist, 20. “But it’s all fun and games until he actually gets elected and runs our country into a shithole.”

“You might see some higher turnout with some people who are totally nihilistically interacting with American politics,” said fellow student Ben Packer, 20.

And not just in New Hampshire. “I don’t think there necessarily is a best candidate for president,” said David Portnoy, an independent and the Boston-based founder of the popular sports blog Barstool Sports. He endorsed Trump in a post last week in which he wrote, “I don’t care if he’s a joke. I don’t care if he’s racist. I don’t care if he’s sexist. I don’t care about any of it.”