‘As a Brit at Trump’s Virginia rally, I was shocked that so many voters feared the same thing’ | USA | News

It was a day of fervent patriotism this weekend, when thousands of Trump supporters descended on Salem, Virginia, for one of the presidential candidate’s final campaign rallies. The most dedicated queued up from 8am – four hours before the town’s Civic Center gates opened.

Once inside, after a parade of political supporters sent the crowd into a frenzy, Trump arrived to thunderous applause and spoke for more than 90 minutes about his plans for “America’s new golden age.”

The former and perhaps future president relentlessly attacked his rival by marking every issue on the Trump bingo card Kamala Harris on the economy, immigration and its involvement with transgender issues.

Promising to usher in a new dawn in which America would be “bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer and stronger,” he told his enthusiastic audience: “If we win Virginia, we win everything. Without winning Virginia, we win everything.” “It is very possible for us to win everything.”

The so-called State Mother was an ambitious choice for a rally in the final days of the campaign; Harris’ votes were 6.2 points above Trump’s According to statistician Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight. But the strength of the support from the nearly 6,000 fans admitted to the relatively intimate venue was undeniable.

READ MORE: US election turmoil at boiling point – ‘Hope Trump gets shot again’

Among those queuing in the 20C afternoon sun was Hannah Dunn, a 27-year-old nurse from Tennessee. She told the Express that Trump was the first president she had ever voted for and that she was backing him once again to build a better future for her two sons.

Hannah said: “This is my first rally and I didn’t know what to expect, I was a bit nervous. But it was great, everyone was so kind. The energy is very alive.

“I have a blue-collar husband, I’m a nurse, so we want the same economy we had with President Trump.” Along with her family and nine-year-old son Jaxon, Hannah proudly displayed a T-shirt that read: “If I were 18, I’d vote for Trump.”

He added: “I’m not 100% confident. I wish I could be. I think he has everything it takes to get votes; What matters is whether it will be true or not.”

Claims that the election may not have been fair were a common theme. Teacher Ginny Perfater, 37, said: “If he doesn’t win it’s clear the system is rigged.”

She said she was traveling from Blacksburg with her daughter and niece and admired Trump’s support for religious freedom.

Ginny added: “I am 100% pro-life. When I was 18 I got pregnant with my daughter and raised her and God took care of us. I believe that life is important and that it begins in the womb, and that we must protect life in the womb. “Murder is wrong no matter what.”

Meanwhile, Randy Laudermilk, 64, suggested Trump’s supporters were not as extreme as reports in the UK suggested.

Emphasizing that the game is about policies rather than a personality contest, he added: “We’re probably no different from most people, who want safety and security and economic stability, to be able to live with a certain amount of personal freedom.”

Fans wore a range of creative T-shirts featuring iconic images, such as the moment Trump raised his fist in the air following a failed assassination attempt in July.

Another popular design featured a defiant caption next to his mugshot: “I vote for the convicted felon.”

As Trump returned from an earlier rally in North Carolina, political heavyweights took to the stage to warm up the crowd.

US senate candidate Hung Cao’s mention of illegal aliens and “countries that hate us like China, Syria and Yemen” drew pantomime-like boos.

And Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears condemned “evils” such as allowing men to compete in women’s sports and “removing body parts from children.”

Eventually the music got so loud it echoed in our chests and the man himself took the stage to the theme song of WWE wrestling legend The Undertaker.

During a wide-ranging speech, Trump brought up members of the local Roanoke College women’s swim team who a year ago rejected a transgender athlete’s attempt to participate.

The former president said the team bravely “opposed transgender fanatics” and then commented that he couldn’t describe them as beautiful because “I’m not allowed to use that term for women anymore.”

Swimmer Lilly Mullens praised Trump for his support, adding: “Joe Biden And Kamala Harris “I have advocated and pushed for this anti-woman, gender-based discrimination to continue in every part of this country, and I have made it clear that it is unfair.”

On the economy, Trump warned that under Harris the economy was falling “by the worst numbers I’ve ever seen.”

He added: “If Kamala wins, you’re three days away from a 1929-style depression; if I win, you’re three days away from the best jobs, the biggest paychecks.”

The pro-Rise candidate also sought to portray himself as someone who risked his life for his country following the July shooting.

He told the audience he didn’t need to attend the rally and could instead spend his time on the beach at one of his oceanfront properties, “my beautiful white skin getting nice and tanned, a wave crashing on my face”.

Trump continued: “I could have said, ‘To hell with everything.’ I could have had the best life in the world. Instead I lost a small piece of my ear.

In more stark terms, he branded Harris “having an extremely low IQ,” diagnosed her with “a massive and incurable case of Trump derangement syndrome” for her criticisms of him, and described California state representative Nancy Pelosi as “crazy as a bedbug.” he described.

Fans went wild for every youthful quip and unscripted joke that showed Trump at his crowd-pleasing best, including a joke about having bad hair the day after seeing himself on the big screen.

The somberest moment came when he addressed the issue of immigration, showing video of mother Alexis Nungaray, whose 12-year-old daughter Jocelyn was sexually assaulted and killed by two illegal immigrants.

Later joined on stage was Tammy Nobles, whose 20-year-old daughter Kayla was raped and murdered by an illegal immigrant and MS-13 gang member.

Trump blamed his death on the current administration’s soft border controls, telling the crowd. Kamala HarrisHe was released to the USA to kill and kill at will.

“The day I take the oath of office, the immigrant invasion ends and the restoration of our country begins, because the United States is now an occupied country.”

After about an hour and a half, it was time to pack up as the crowd began to leave before Trump finished his speech.

With a final burst of energy, the candidate concluded his speech by speaking to the audience with his signature promise to “make America great again.”

The race for the White House is still very close; some polls suggest a last-minute surge for Harris, while others predict a narrow victory for Trump.

Only time will tell whether he has the numbers to secure a second term, but there is no doubt that Donald Trump is fighting for the last vote.