Trump holds rally at Sacramento Jet Center

By Claire Alongi and Willa Moffatt,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

The rally line was long and the temperatures blazing, but nonetheless, Trump supporters and protesters were drawn to the Sacramento Jet Center on June 1 to either sing the Republican candidate’s praises, or condemn him as a fascist and bigot. In other words, a regular turnout for a Trump rally.

Doors didn’t open until 4:00 in the afternoon, but by 3:30 a line of umbrellas, coolers and red “Make America Great Again” hats could be seen winding its way through the Jet Center parking lot. Vendors trolled up and down the sea of supporters, toting Trump paraphernalia and anti-Hillary Clinton items like “Hillary for Prison 2016” pins and “Hillary Sucks But Not as Much as Monica” shirts.

Just as prevalent as the carts of merchandise were groups of protesters who continually walked the length of the entrance line, shouting “Burn the wall!” and carrying a variety of anti-Trump signs. A popular slogan was “Dump Trump.”

Davis High junior Moira Williams attended the rally as a protester with her mom and sister, and sported a “Dump Trump” sign. Williams thought most Trump supporters seemed “sheepish and dismissive, almost embarrassed to be there.”

Some were hostile; a few spouted profanity at the protesters and made obscene hand gestures.

However, Williams was most surprised by the aggressive attitude of some of the protesters.

“A few of the Trump protesters were hostile, calling the supporters things like ‘[society’s] cancer’ and saying that they should ‘kill themselves.’ There was also a lot of calling Trump racist and fascist and asking supporters to not support either of those things,” Williams said.

DHS senior and Trump supporter Andrew Arnheiter thinks that the protesters will be what he remembers the most from the afternoon.

“I respect that they have a First Amendment right to protest, but some of them, to be honest, disgusted me,” Arnheiter said. “They had signs saying profane things and were chanting horrible slangs directed at us. But most disturbing was how they yelled at the cops, calling them worthless and pigs.”

Despite the vitriolic clashes between supporters and protesters, the action died down when supporters began to enter the Jet Center hangar, and security forced protesters to wait outside.

Even in the open air hangar, the heat failed to dampen the spirits of the crowd; some had been waiting since early that morning to hear the former “Celebrity Apprentice” host talk about his campaign.

After sitting and waiting some more, supporters cheered wildly when former congressman Doug Ose took to the podium as the night’s emcee.

“I stand here to support Donald Trump for president. I ask you to vote for Donald Trump, and together we will America great again!” Ose said, parroting Trump’s unmistakable campaign slogan.

Ose was followed by Sacramento Community member Kim LaGrande, who compared Trump’s potential presidency to “the arrival of rainfall after a lengthy drought.” Former U.S. military servicemen Chuck McDougald and Scott O’Grady also took the stage and praised Trump’s efforts to help veterans.

And then, to loud music and thunderous shouts, Trump disembarked from his private jet and began an hour’s worth of calling Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton “a liar” and “crooked.”

Trump also boasted about the crowd of 11,000–later reports estimated the turnout at closer to 1,500 or 2,000–that turned up for the rally that night, while bashing underdog Bernie Sanders, who was simultaneously holding a rally at Hutchinson Field on the UC Davis Campus, for his typically small turnouts.

However, Trump agreed with Sanders on one point, saying “Hillary is not qualified.”

Click below to listen to a clip from Trump’s speech:

The candidate punctuated his usual rhetoric with mentions of Sacramento, citing a disputed study that said one in five children in the city are impoverished.

He also made jabs at Governor Jerry Brown, who endorsed Clinton for president on Tuesday, May 31.

Though Trump is the presumptive nominee for the Republican party, he still encouraged his supporters to get out and vote on June 7, the date of California’s primary.

“I’m going to make a real run in California,” Trump proclaimed to raucous shouts and applause.

Trump lambasted the media during his speech, pointing to the media cage around 100 feet from his platform, where HUB reporters Isabella Ainsworth and Brooke Lee were located, and said that while “some of them are great people,” a lot of them made up lies about him.

“‘But the press always want to make it look as bad as possible. These are bad people folks,” Trump said as the crowd booed with him in agreement.

“I absolutely loved [the rally],” Arnheiter said afterwards. “Everyone there was so nice and friendly. The media likes to paint a negative picture of Trump supporters, but they were all fantastic.”

Editor’s Note: Check out the HUB on Instagram @bluedevilhub and Twitter @dhshub to find the live updates from Wednesday afternoon.