COLUMBUS – I did not wake up Tuesday morning thinking I would be in the presence of Donald J. Trump Tuesday afternoon.
But in the name of journalism, that’s exactly what myself and my colleague Dillon Carr set out to do.
In two weeks, Ohio is going to take its place in the political cycle as we vote in the primary election on March 15.
Starting March 1, Richland Source hopes to cover presidential candidates who visit in close proximity, as long as there are local angles to cover.
So, with an open mind and a slight fear of the unknown, Dillon and I traveled to Columbus to cover Donald Trump.
The first image greeting us as we pulled into Port-Columbus International Airport was a truck condemning Planned Parenthood, showing a gruesome image of an allegedly aborted fetus on its side. Immediately the tone for the day was set.
For how well attended Trump rallies are shown to be, I was surprised how smoothly the process was to get into the Columbus rally. After quickly finding a parking space, we made our way to the rally’s shuttle amidst vendors peddling Trump t-shirts, buttons and his trademark red “Make America Great Again” hats. Chants of “Hillary for prison” and “Build that wall!” were already in the air.
As the shuttle pulled up to the event, I said to myself, “I can’t believe I’m about to see this.” A woman from Marysville turned around and replied, “I know, we’re about to see the future president of the United States!”
A quick pass through security and we were in the belly of the beast, inside the Signature Flight Hangar at Port-Columbus International Airport. A podium awaiting Trump was flanked by banners displaying the American flag as well as Ohio’s flag. We watched as people milled around inside, sporting various versions of Trump apparel.
While scanning the area, I spotted a man wearing a sweatshirt with the Snow Trails logo. Among hundreds of people attending the rally, we managed to find two men from Mansfield.
The man with the sweatshirt declined comment, but we were able to talk to Mansfield resident Dan Dees, owner of a landscaping company currently in the off season. Dees told us he was there to support Trump because he truly believed he could make America great again.
Walking around, we spoke to another pair of men and found one was from Wooster. The two told us they were veterans who supported Trump because of his vow to support veterans, and because, “I like my guns.”
Pastor Mark Burns, co-founder and CEO of Christian television network “The NOW Network,” traveled from South Carolina to prepare the crowd for Trump’s arrival. He praised Trump for “saying in public what everyone thinks in private,” and condemned the media for painting Trump as a racist. This wasn’t the only time the media was part of the rhetoric today, but more on that later.
While we waited, an announcement came over the loudspeaker instructing all protestors to please move to a safe space outside. They also asked that if attendees encountered a protestor, that they please do not harm them. That elicited a chuckle in the crowd. Instead, the voice asked that supporters surround the protestor and chant “Trump” until they were removed by security.
At a quarter past noon, Trump’s arrival became apparent thanks to a noticeable shift in music. Instead of a myriad of popular pop songs, the tone switched to where I felt like I was in a movie, the part where the hero rises from the ashes to become triumphant yet again.
Gov. Chris Christie made a surprise appearance. He reiterated his endorsement of Trump, and stated, “We need a leader to mean what he says and says what he means.” Christie also included a couple jabs at the Democrats and Trump’s opponent Marco Rubio.
I should note we made an effort to blend into the crowd instead of identifying ourselves as media and being corralled into the designated media pen. Partially because we wanted to experience the day as “normal” people, and partially out of self preservation. We didn’t want this to happen to us.
It’s no secret that Trump and his supporters disdain the media. At one point I raised my phone over my head to take a picture, not unusual for such an event, and a woman behind me scoffed and muttered, “Look at the media.”
Typical of Trump rallies, it didn’t take long before he pointed out the cameras on the media deck and said, “The media is the most dishonest…they are worse than politicians. They are the most dishonest people that you’ll deal with.”
All around us the crowd erupted in cheers and boos, and I felt exposed – like the words “reporter” were suddenly tattooed on my forehead. Considering the treatment of the media at past Trump rallies, there was a moment that I genuinely feared for my safety.
“Would anybody like to play protester today?” Trump said, referencing a common theme of his that news cameras do not the show the crowd unless there is a protester. At least two people took him up on that offer, though I believe they were genuinely protesting.
If you’ve read about Donald Trump, you’re already familiar with all the talking points we heard from him: building the wall and making Mexico pay for it, “little” Marco Rubio, “lying” Ted Cruz, and bringing jobs back to America. More excerpts from Trump’s speech today can be found in our video below.
Trump also touched on a few topics that have a direct affect on Ohio. Trump highlighted his pledge to New Hampshire that he would stop heroin from coming into the country, a major problem in Ohio. Pastor Burns also vouched that Trump would get rid of Common Core.
As we looked around, many in the crowd held signs up stating the “silent majority” is in support of Trump, and more than one supporter told me that Trump helped their voices be heard. One man told me he didn’t want his 4-year-old son to grow up in a socialist America.
“We’re uneducated,” the man said, referring to Trump’s claim that day that he especially loved uneducated people. “We graduated from the school of hard knocks.”
Towards the end of the rally, the atmosphere around us grew tense when three black teenagers joined the crowd. They were directly tailed by a member of Trump’s staff, who was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat and a suit jacket with a “staff” lanyard around his neck. The staff member followed the young men through the crowd and never left their side.
Meanwhile, as the young men stood quietly watching Trump speak, a middle-aged man pushed past me to tap his two sons, who looked to be in their teens, on the shoulder. The man asked that his sons join him further back and said, pointing to the young black men, “I don’t like the looks of them.”
As Dillon and I turned to leave, the loudest cheer of the day erupted as Trump went after Democrat Hillary Clinton. Echoing more than one opinion I heard that day, Trump told his supporters that Hillary was unfit to run the country and belonged in prison.
To wrap up, Trump acknowledged the role that Ohio plays in every election as a crucial swing state.
“Winning in Ohio is so important,” he said.
Below is a montage of scenes from the Trump rally:
