Dump Trump

Sam Doak, Staff Writer

Standing in line on the corner of Clark and North 14th Street in downtown St. Louis on a nice Friday morning with my McDonald’s coffee in one hand and a ticket in the other, I realized one thing.  Trump supporters are all very obnoxious.

Last Friday presidential candidate Donald Trump held a rally in St. Louis at the Peabody Opera House, one which I had the uncomfortable opportunity to attend.

“Go,” my mom told me Thursday evening. “Go watch all the crazy people.  It will be an experience you’ll never forget.”  And an unforgettable experience it was.

The event was scheduled to start at 12, but Trump didn’t actually come out on stage until around 1 p.m., and after standing in line for over three hours, it was something I did not find amusing.

While in line I was had the awful pleasure of  listening to Trump supporters argue and fuss over any other candidate that didn’t have the aggressive on- minded mentality as Trump does.

Also while in line I felt so out of place that I actually bought a button to fake my support as to not get booed and yelled at for disliking Trump.

After what felt like hours upon hours of standing and listening to his supporters speak, I was in shock of how much people actually believe in this guy.  Then it finally hit me as I approached the entrance to the Peabody.  This man could actually be our president, a quite frightening moment for myself.

I felt myself drawn to the protestors and others who were standing outside the opera house blocked by the metal railing put there by the police.  I wanted to scream to them that I wasn’t actually there to support Trump.  I was there for the carnival show that came next.

As I walked through the security and swiftly avoided the workers handing out free Trump signs, I made my way to my seat, three rows from the back of the bottom floor.  Since I did not arrive to the event at the crack of dawn, my seating selection was limited.  Little did I know that I would be four rows away from a big group of protestors who would disrupt the event later on.

After waiting for another hour and a half, a woman finally walked across the stage and the crowd went nuts, though no one knew who she was.  The woman introduced herself and then proceeded to tell us that she was a Latino, single mother of three kids, and a veteran, all the things Trump is known to forget or disregard.  I found this to be very amusing.

Next were a few people who spoke more on behalf of Trump and then came another 30 minute break before the main event started.

During the break numerous high school and college aged boys were leading chants and cheers for their beloved idol and god, Mr. Donald J. Trump.

“I say Donald you say Trump,” and “I say build a you say wall,” were echoed by the crowd among many other chants.

Finally the ‘80s themed music stopped after hearing “Uptown Girl” for what seemed to be the fifth time of the day and the crowd went silent.

A frail 91-year-old woman was escorted on stage to introduce Trump.  Then the crowd rose like a wave starting from front to back.  The stage lights changed and lit up the American flag among others standing at the back of the stage in red and blue.  Trump confidently strolled up to the podium while the crowd went wild like I was at some sort of concert and this was the band’s last night performing.

After the first few minutes Trump gave the crowd permission to sit down and started his idiotic rant on how he plans to “Make America Great Again.”

Trump started out by saying how he was just going to simply talk to us by not reading on some teleprompter or from notecards, unlike, clearly pointed out rival Hillary Clinton, does at her rallies.

If the first few parts of my morning weren’t enough, the day became even more exciting as the madness seemed to grow among the crowd.

As Trump was talking about something I can’t remember, someone stood up and started shouting back.  This was the first protestor of the day.  As the crowd morphed from a calm sitting and listening state  to an almost mob, Trump eyed down the protestor, waited a few seconds as the tension between the people and protestor grew, then said the famous words, “Get em’ out of here.”

The crowd cheered with excitement and Trump continued.

There were three major points that I understood at the end of the day from Trump’s “speech.” First, if we elect Clinton it will just be Obama all over again along with how all Democrats are horrible cheaters. Second, a wall between Mexico and the U.S. that the Mexican people will pay for will solve all of our illegal immigration problems.  And third, Trump plans to just somehow get everything he promises accomplished, like a magic act and perhaps he is the magician.  Oh, and not to mention that his wife and daughter would make a great first lady and daughter.

Throughout the act, there were numerous people who tried to speak up but were quickly shot down because of the supporters who were booing and yelling for them to be thrown out.  A personal favorite of the day was a woman who walked from the front middle aisle all the way out the door with both hands up telling everyone they were number one.

I also found it extremely rude that Trump would say “Go home to mommy and daddy,” after kicking out a protestor, or “Go get a real job,” when he especially didn’t like someone.  But the best protestors of the day came from a large group a few rows in front of me.

With the recent events that happened in Ferguson just a few minutes away, protestors were bound to come.

Protestors shouted “Out with Trump!” and “Black lives matter too!” during Trump’s speech as flags and banners were waived by the group.  This is where the most police force was used to remove the protestors, which took all of 20 minutes and them some to recuperate as more people in a waiting room filled the missing protestors’ seats.

Newspapers and local news channels reported over 30 people were arrested that day for protesting.

Finally, at the end of the circus, I walked out into the bright sunlight and was greeted by a huge crowd that filled Market Street protesting against Trump.  Bernie Sanders and Clinton fans flooded the metal railings that divided the Trump supports from them and continued to show their resentfulness towards Trump.

Again I felt as if I was being yelled at for the wrong reason. After the rally, I felt like I should have been on the other side of those gates.  I felt like I was disappointed that I even wasted my time at an event like this.

Yes, I’m glad I went for the crazy and unforgettable experience, but if I was asked to go again and watch a person like this speak, I’d happily decline.