Donald Trump speaks at a rally Monday in Madison. (Photo by: Cady Herring)
MADISON – A line of people of all ages, shapes and sizes wrapped around Madison Central High School yesterday heading in to the main gym that was far too small to house the number of people waiting outside.
It was clear that not everybody was going to get in, but that didn’t seem to matter. What can one expect to be the cause of such delirium. A professional basketball game? A popular rock concert?
This massive affair came as a result of the visit of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to Madison in preparation for the Mississippi open primary.
“[I’m] just out here to support Trump and all his great constituents,” Ashley Moore, traveling Trump merchandise saleswoman, said. “He doesn’t take shit from anybody. He’s not going to be a pushover.”
The night started with the people’s first glimpse of the man himself. As Trump arrived at the venue, he gave a quick wave to all of the attendees, which was enough to start a fit of screaming and sign waving.
Ronnie Moss of Brandon volunteers at the Trump rally Monday in Madison Monday. Moss graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1972 and played football with Archie Manning. (Photo by: Cady Herring)
Tensions rose as the crowd waited for the main address. The occasional chanting of “Trump” displayed the crowd’s restlessness, and soon, after a few opening formalities, Trump took the stage, greeted by the cheers of his Mississippi constituents.
He began his address by announcing his receipt of the key to the city of Madison, which Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler presented to him earlier that day. He expressed his gratitude for the gift and said the key would be placed in a special place in his office back in Manhattan.
He then went straight in to his stance on foreign trade and employment, focusing on the countries of China and Mexico. He addressed the issue of unemployment in Mississippi and ensured the attendees, in the event that he becomes president, the state will no longer lose jobs to foreign countries.
This train of conversation led to a discussion of his highly publicized plan to build a wall on the border of Mexico to halt illegal immigration into America. As has been highlighted numerous times by Trump, not only does he plan to build the wall, but also force the nation of Mexico to pay for its construction, an issue he addressed later on in the rally.
Trump said he feels the large trade deficit in America’s favor with Mexico is exactly the sort of leverage necessary to ensure the country pays for such a wall.
With his usual, Trump-like flare, he knocked on Marco Rubio for lacking confidence and charisma, in addition to calling Ted Cruz a liar and accusing him of using Christianity to gain followers.
Another major theme of the rally as a whole was his focus on furthering Christianity in America as a whole. He expressed his anger over what he feels to be a bias against Christians and in favor of religions like Islam.
Video by: Cady Herring
Trump closed his address by urging all of the supporters to go out and vote for him in the primary Tuesday, despite his extreme confidence in victory for his campaign in the state.
Despite what appeared to be unflinching support from the Madison crowd, some of those in attendance were not pleased with what they heard.
“He doesn’t believe what he says,” Ole Miss Australian exchange student Charlie Jenner said. “People that vote against their class interests are generally uneducated and are generally stupid. So, what do you do to make generally uneducated and generally stupid people vote for Trump? You implement devices of racist rhetoric. Even though he doesn’t believe what he is saying, he knows what he is saying.”
For some attendees, this negative view of Trump’s ideology was coupled with frustration at the fact that the rally began more than an hour early, causing some to miss significant portions of the event.
“I’m upset! [Trump] owes me gas money,” Jackson State student Martez Baldwin said. “The website said it started at 7 o’clock. It started at 6 o’clock, therefore I feel he owes me gas money.”
– Austin Hille
