Perhaps you’re “Feeling the Bern.” Or maybe you’re ready to “Make America Great Again.” You’re likely not ready or willing to do both, but I recently had the opportunity to experience both ends of the American political spectrum by attending the Worcester rallies of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New York real estate developer Donald Trump.

What a contrast.

Sen. Sanders’ rally, at North High School on Jan. 2, felt more personal and down to earth, while Mr. Trump’s, at the DCU Center on Nov. 18, was very impersonal and structured.

I believe that this matches each of their personalities well: the small-town guy from Vermont, a virtual unknown outside of New England before the past few months, and the swaggering billionaire celebrity recognized by most of America.

Supporters of Sen. Sanders, who picked up a big victory over Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire Primary on Tuesday, were interested in hearing about income inequality and climate change, while the supporters of Mr. Trump, who also won big Tuesday, were more interested in knocking “the hell out of ISIS.”

It was a tale of two worlds.

I arrived at the Trump rally around two hours before its scheduled start. As I walked into the arena, I was surrounded by protesters. Signs read, “Immigrants make the U.S.A. great,” and “I stand with the 11 million you want to deport,” among others. This was unsurprising given Mr. Trump’s controversial statements about immigration reform.

The Sanders rally, however, was quite different. The first thing I noticed was the absence of even a single protester outside the building. Another difference was Sen. Sanders had a single security guard, while Mr. Trump (and the DCU Center itself) was swamped with a vast security detail.

As it got closer to the start of the Trump rally, the lack of diversity in the room became apparent. The overwhelming majority of the space was filled with older, white women and men. The Sanders rally, in contrast, was far more diverse, with people of all ages and ethnicities in attendance.

Before the start of the Trump rally, a young man held up a sign reading, “*BUILD THE WALL*.” Surprisingly—or maybe not given the audience—the 10,000-plus supporters began chanting the phrase in a rather cult-like manner. There was nothing like it at Sen. Sanders’ rally.

The Trump rally finally began about half an hour late with the fight song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by the band Twisted Sister. It was appropriate, given Mr. Trump’s stand against career politicians and the “Washington establishment.” I found his entrance to be far more glamorous, in a vain kind of way, than Sen. Sanders’ entrance. No surprise there, either.

After the beginning of each rally, things went fairly smoothly until the protesting began. Mr. Trump’s rally was interrupted three times, with protesters shouting things such as “You’re a racist, Trump” and other sentiments that I cannot repeat in a school newspaper.

Another group held a sign that said “Migrant Lives Matter.” I distinctly remember that each time protesters were removed, there were chants of “Trump!” and “U.S.A.!” Unfortunately, as I was in an overflow room during the Sanders rally, I was not able to see the lone protester inside the rally first-hand.

One of the few similarities between the two was chants of the candidates’ names when they mentioned something that people agreed with. But whenever Mr. Trump mentioned Obamacare or the president’s strategy with ISIS, his supporters booed vehemently at the mention of Mr. Obama’s name.

I couldn’t help wondering: Would the same have happened if we had a conservative president and Sen. Sanders were in Mr. Trump’s position?

In the end, I found the Trump supporters to be more overtly patriotic, but also far less tolerant and accepting than the Sanders supporters. I think overall the Sanders rally was a more welcoming environment and the Trump rally felt like the goal was to have everyone ride a cult-like wave of nationalism.

So whether you’re “Feeling the Bern,” ready to “Make America Great Again,” or even “Ready For Hillary,” or “Cruzing to the White House,” you can be assured of one thing—it promises to be an exciting, albeit divisive, election.