A Day at Trump’s Kansas Rally: A Two-Mile Queue, Protests Inside and Out, and a Call to Vote
Attending in person an election rally of Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of the United States, one of the world’s most powerful countries, is an experience of a different kind. The rally was held under tight security at the Hartland Credit Union Arena in Park City, next to the city of Wichita.
Outside the rally, planes and drones circled in the sky, while mounted special police and various law-enforcement agencies wrapped the whole area in tight security.
To join the rally, a registration form had to be filled in online beforehand. When the clock reached exactly 2:30pm, the doors of the rally were opened.
Thousands of workers and supporters were seen waiting to enter the rally grounds, standing in a queue two miles long. Only a handful of Asian faces could be spotted in that long line.
Even after standing in line until 5:30pm, many could not get inside. With no room left, thousands of people outside the arena were seen listening to the speech on a digital screen.
Only a week remains before the midterm elections. President Trump is speaking at one rally or another every day. To energise Kansas Republican voters and in support of Senator Roger Marshall, he spoke last Monday (19 October) at the Hartland Credit Union Arena in Park City.
In a speech of about 45 minutes, covering closing the US border and deporting immigrants, anti-communism, radical Islam and other issues, he blamed immigrants for political instability in Europe and warned American voters. At the start of his speech, he labelled media outlets he dislikes in the front rows as “fake news”.
Outside the venue, more than a hundred protesters stood until evening holding placards with various slogans. Their placards clearly mentioned administrative corruption under Trump, which ordinary voters are not taking well.
A recent Fox News survey found that a record 89 percent of Americans believe corruption exists extensively in government — 30 points higher than in 2006. Trump is mainly blamed for this; most adults believe he gives his own business interests more importance than the interests of the country and ordinary Americans. About 60 percent believe he has done something illegal or unethical in the process.
In the middle of the speech, when some people inside the venue also began chanting slogans against Trump, he appeared put in an awkward position. He labelled them “paid protesters”, and police took them outside. Trump then commented that tomorrow’s newspaper headline would read: “Trump rally amid massive protests!”
He firmly believed that the election result in Kansas, known for generations as a Republican state, would again go their way. In his speech he called on everyone to take part in the election to secure voters’ votes.
Finally, Trump ended his speech by calling for votes for Republican Senator Roger Marshall to make Kansas more prosperous. In a long life abroad, the writer had stopped at many rallies large and small, but this one was exceptional — seeing people’s freedom to speak and to protest, it felt as though democracy is still alive.
