Posted on 05/23/2019 7:32:35 AM PDT by simpson96
President Trump on Monday paid a visit to north-central Pennsylvania, where he addressed a MAGA rally in a hangar at the Williamsport Regional Airport. As a Western New Yorker, I had only to drive a short distance to partake. Given this happy circumstance, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to see the man in the flesh. I’m glad I did.
For those who have never been to a Trump rally, you should know that sour-faced liberal protesters are almost entirely absent. A carnival atmosphere prevails, and overwhelmingly the crowds are composed of ordinary Americans, either long-time and fervent admirers of the president, or recent converts to the cause. They are male and female, young and old, rich and poor. Indeed, I was heartened to see such a broad cross-section of humanity, including plenty of people from the demographic categories pundits have long pronounced utterly lost to Donald Trump. Not so fast!
The vast majority of rallying Trump-supporters are bedecked in MAGA gear. The sale of such merchandise is brisk. I now own a vintage red MAGA hat, a Trump-Pence sign, as well as a Space Force t-shirt—cherished mementos. The vast majority of those selling such gear, even in rural Pennsylvania, were black. Whether they were motivated by Trump-loving zeal or good, old-fashioned capitalism (sometimes the two overlap) is hard to say, but if Trumpers are synonymous with Klan members and “Nazis,” as Joe Biden claims, these African-Americans clearly aren’t impressed by the message. Needless to say, not a lick of racial, ethnic, or religious prejudice was on display.
One of my strongest reactions to the rally was a sense of gratitude at my good fortune—gratitude that I live in the kind of country where an average citizen can get so close to a man who is not just our president, but also the leader of the free world. I felt my good fortune because I was in one of the last groups of attendees who, after standing in line for hours, were allowed into the main venue. Thousands of my Trump-loving compatriots were not so lucky. They had to make do with a big-screen monitor in a nearby parking lot. Clearly, attendance vastly exceeded expectations. Despite the logistical challenges, the mood everywhere was exuberant.
I was pleasantly surprised that Donald Trump, Jr. spoke to the crowd shortly before Air Force One touched down with its precious cargo. He was phenomenal. He spoke with an eloquence, intelligence, and frankness that—along with the natural rapport he had with the crowd—were extraordinary, given his privileged background. But perhaps it should not so surprising that Don, Jr. has these gifts, given who his father is. It is easy to imagine a bright future for him Republican and conservative politics.
Mingling with the crowd, and graciously taking selfies with all comers, was Kellyanne Conway. Absent was Mr. Conway. We were twice blessed.
The highlight of the rally, of course, was a rousing speech by President Trump himself. He dwelt, as one might expect, on the progress that has been made in the last two years. He talked about jobs created and hope restored. He asked the crowd, given the success of his presidency, whether his campaign slogan should continue to be “Make America Great Again,” or should instead become “Keep America Great.” The crowd leaned towards the latter, but I got the distinct impression that the President isn’t quite convinced.
President Trump also taunted his opponents, as is his wont. He compared the size of his own rally with the smaller campaign event staged by Joe Biden two days before.
The moment that was perhaps the most newsworthy, and the most “vintage Trump,” was when he speculated that he might win not just two presidential elections, but three, or four, or five. He got a chuckle out of the likely media reaction to that gem!
The main takeaway from the rally I attended, and I suspect from every Trump rally, is the extraordinary bond that Donald Trump enjoys with the tens of millions of Americans who support him. Say what you will about President Trump, but he possesses a brand of charisma that has seldom been seen in American political history.
The sad part is that, while he is free to connect on a visceral level with those who attend his rallies, the media, the vast majority of the time, ensures that his message is not delivered straight to the American people as a whole. Instead, it is passed through a filter comprised of equal parts cynicism, spite, and misinformation. As Trump himself observed, it is this barrage of negativity that explains why he isn’t simply running away with the 2020 election, when he so obviously should be.
In the end, though, the media isn’t as powerful as the voters are. This tells me that there are many more Trump rallies to come, and, at a minimum, “FOUR MORE YEARS!” of President Donald J. Trump.
My favorite slogan of all? “Make Liberals Cry Again.” And so we shall!
The last Trump rally I was at, the FL State Fairgrounds in Tampa, some protesters thought they were slick by blasting Back in the USSR over a boom box. I politely and repsectfully asked them if they were aware that at the time the Beatles wrote that song, whoever was putting them up to that foolishness not only didn’t have any problem with the Rissians trying to meddle in our affairs but actually encouraged it? Nothing but blank stares. ORANGE...MAN...BAD
MAGA-MLCA! “Make Liberals Cry Again.” LOL!
Good work.
The Four Horsewomen of the Apocalypse...
LOL.
Another day where Kellyanne is doing important things whilst Mr. Kellyanne, the fat "stone cold loser", attends to his stupid little "Checks and Balances" organization.
So I just googled “Trump insists” and “Obama insists”.
There were 264,000 results for Trump compared to 29,900 for Obama.
I had the honor of attending the very last Trump rally without a teleprompter. It was in August 2016 in Fairfield, CT. This was right before Kellyanne Conway took over the campaign (and wisely insisted on teleprompters).
Even in deep-blue Connecticut, a Trump rally is a wonderful experience. So many good people were in the crowd. This was the real America.
What is that Hawaiian idiot lady rep called?
The radicals getting all of the Dem attention have ZERO in common with most Americans - not a winning strategy.
"Piglosi"? LOL - great one Liz.
I have attended three. Remarkable is the mix, Trump’s read of the crowd. And pre-teleprompter events were best. Looking forward to his next Reno visit.
Maizie Hirono.
This is why I only referto our president as “our great and wonderful president Donald J Trump” !
It’s my understanding that Mike Love suggested to Paul that he write a “beach boys” type song when they were doing that Maharishi thing. Back in the USSR was the result - a soft homage/parody of Beach Boys tunes of the era.
“Paul stated in 1968, “In my mind it’s just about a (Russian) spy who’s been in America for a long time and he’s become very American but when he gets back to the USSR he’s saying, ‘Leave it ‘til tomorrow to unpack my case, Honey, disconnect the phone.’ and all that, but to Russian women.”
https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-beatles/back-in-the-ussr
Your point is still valid - the lefties thought they were giving biting sarcasm but in fact the joke was on them.
Just as a data point, all of my immediate family voted for Trump with varying degrees of enthusiasm in 2016, but none will vote for him again in 2020. Luckily they’re all in a state that it won’t matter either way.
There. Fixed it.
But I insult the noble equine.
There. Fixed it.
But I insult the noble equine.
Pictures of the black vendors selling MAGA stuff would make great memes.
Just wait. I'm sure that there are a few out there.
And the MSM will fall all over themselves to give the few a platform and a microphone.
Excellent!
I was one of the early supporters of candidate Trump as I had read some of his books.
Also, the way the mediots including Faux treated him, showed they were scared that if Trump became our president, their scams would be in danger. That included the phoney conservatives on TV and writers.
They hated Trump and his supporters/voters, the Deploreables.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.