Posted on 03/28/2019 5:48:11 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!” a crowd of more than 200 protesters chanted at President Donald Trump supporters as they entered Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids Thursday afternoon to hear the president speak.
“I came here to stand up for what I believe in,” said Grand Rapids resident Cam Deen, “and that’s anti-racism, anti-bigotry and anti-sexism. I feel Trump embodies the opposite of those things.”
The protesters on Fulton Street in front of the arena were contained within a city block by salt trucks on either end and were separated from Trump supporters by barriers and police officers on bicycles.
Protesters gathered at 4 p.m., just as doors opened to allow people in for the president’s remarks scheduled for 7 p.m. The line to enter the Van Andel stretched numerous city blocks, and some die-hard supporters staked their place in the early-morning hours.
Another counter rally, staged by the Michigan Democratic Party, was held nearby in Rosa Parks Circle.
“We want to show Trump that there’s strong opposition in Grand Rapids,” said Philip Snyder, the branch organizer for Socialist Alternative that staged the Fulton Street protest. “I want him to reconsider coming back. I want people to get organized, get involved, and not just every election cycle: I want people to have their voices heard.”
Snyder said Trump is representative of the right-wing billionaire class that attacks immigrants, working people and people of color.
The rally is Trump’s first since the U.S. Special Counsel investigation cleared him of collusion with the Russian government. It’s his second in Michigan since becoming president, although he visited multiple times during the 2016 campaign.
Though some moments between Trump supporters and protesters were heated, the atmosphere was generally calm.
A number of Southern rock classics, with some Queen, Village People and Rolling Stones sprinkled in, comprised the soundtrack played over the outside speaker at Van Andel. When Village People’s song “Y.M.C.A.” played, numerous people on both sides broke into the choreography.
At times, a PSA told Trump supporters not to “touch or harm” protesters that crossed the divide. Instead, the PSA announced, supporters should hold their rally signs above their heads and say, “Trump, Trump, Trump,” to alert police to the matter.
One Trump supporter, Sand Lake resident Steve McBride, walked the protest lines with a megaphone.
Having seen Trump twice before, this time around he decided to let “other people take it in” and try instead to communicate with protesters.
McBride said although he doesn’t agree with everything Trump does, the country is “coming to a crucial breaking point” with mass shootings and immigration at the border shared with Mexico.
“Just like the friend that’s on heroin, crack, fentanyl, I know how hatred can be an addiction,” he said. “I refuse to crucify him for the small matters that have been exposed about his attitude, his brashness, his lack of political correctness.”
Dee Holton, an Eaton Rapids resident, looked on at the protesters before getting in line for the rally. He and a friend held a flag that read “Donald Trump / Make America Great Again.”
“Everybody is entitled to their own opinion,” he said of the protests.
Mary Byrne traveled from Wayland with a group of eight friends to join the protest, hoping those on the other side of the dividing line “wake up” and realize the middle class is being squeezed out, because “they’re going to lose everything we’re going to lose,” she said.
“We have a dishonest president,” Byrne said. “He’d love to be a dictator, and those people are following him like a cult.”
200?
Meh...
I don’t think that anyone of the thousands in the building cared.
Did Walmart have a special Rollback sale ,LOL
Such morons.
Must suck being that miserable. I wasn’t happy with obxxx in office but these people are useless.
Decades old chant and not applicable to President Trump. Damned Fascists.
More people go to one of the smaller breweries we have in this city on a Tuesday.
Thousands came to see POTUS. 200 dipshitz is a big deal? Hah hah!
I saw the images of these protestors, there were in the words of Sean Hannity, LITERALLY 5 people there
I was looking at three live streams where 30,000+ were watching live. Probably more on TV and Radio.
200? The crowd there was thousands. Weak showing for the protestors.
Really? I thought being a dictator was more like this...
"Obama to progressives: My power is limited"
" because a lot of people have been saying this lately on every problem, which is just sign an executive order, and we can pretty much do anything and basically nullify Congress.”
"an immigration activist interrupted a speech by Obama in San Francisco, calling out “You have a power to stop deportation for all undocumented immigrants in this country!”"
“It’s always hard to quantify, but he seems to me well within the mainstream of recent presidents in his use of executive orders and other instruments for directing policy,” Eric Posner, a professor of law at University of Chicago, told msnbc.
Looks like little bammie's proglib supporters are the ones with the dictator genes.
.
NPC’s.
No Sztrok, no DOJ, no Commie USA!
I’m sure it’s way more than they said. Funny you should say that because my first thought when they said 200 is that it was probably 50.
“200 protesters”?
Is Soros running out of money?
i did some internet searches for vids and looks like just a few dozen “protesters” at most ... almost all of them were youngsters ... high school or college age ... pretty much just standing around yakking and hugging each other ... i don’t think a lot of ‘em even knew how to “protest” given that many weren’t bothering to hold up their signs ...
https://www.wlns.com/news/pres-trump-protesters-supporters-gather-in-grand-rapids/1883858888
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