Manassas, Virginia
Make no mistake: Donald Trump is running a serious, well-organized campaign. Wednesday night, it showed.
I arrived at the Prince William County Fairgrounds last night for the Donald’s first big rally in the Washington metro area just as the doors were opening at 5:30.
The Secret Service, now entrusted with Mr. Trump’s safety, manned two security checkpoints for rallygoers. One for guests, the other for media. I did not RSVP as media, yet, I went to the media check-in booth anyway to see if my press pass would help me acquire a coveted campaign trail event credential.
It didn’t.
Unlike other events, where journalists with government-issued press credentials can sign in, the Trump campaign required that latecomers email Trump campaign coordinator Megan Powers to ask for one. If she agreed, she would tell the on-site staff to give a credential. Or not.
Powers, who graduated from NYU earlier this year, presumably wields a lot of power here, deciding who in the press does or does not get access to the press area. And with the Trump campaign’s recent history of denying credentials to reporters from various outlets, I wasn’t about to wait around and take my chances.
After all, I already had a ticket to the event, since I was one of the first to register as a guest. I was made aware of the event because after buying a red “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” hat, I somehow ended up on an official volunteer email list for Trump supporters, and RSVP’d.
The Secret Service agent who had to search my backpack, replete with cords, batteries, and electronic devices of all kinds was not amused. I was pretty much the only person with a backpack, and it was fairly obvious. Naturally, I had to sport my Trump hat — The Classiest, Worst Hat I Ever Bought — so I took it out of my bag and put it on. In my choice of headgear, I was not alone.
A vendor, not affiliated with Trump’s campaign, was selling knock-off hats that were very similar to Trump’s official campaign fashion line, and every fifth person seemed to have one. As Manassas is more Trump country than say, dark blue Alexandria, the camouflage and hunter’s orange hats were quite popular.
This was not a ‘YUUUGE’ rally like ones in recent memory, but as Trump later joked when chiding his opponents for their comparatively smaller rallies, it was no small feat. In total, about 1,000 or so Trump supporters crowded into a modern steel barn at the fairgrounds. The crowd, like most GOP rallies, skewed mostly white and older — but there were also a fair amount of minorities and teenagers in attendance.
While waiting for the show to begin, a video reporter from NBC approached to inquire why I was there to support Trump. I explained the situation with the press credentials, and that I wasn’t there as a supporter. She informed that the credentialed press were told to be back in the media playpen 15 minutes before Trump’s scheduled remarks at 7:30. (He was 20 minutes late.)
The Trump campaign had a full slate of surrogates lined up to prep and rev up the crowd: Former Virginia Congressman (and party switcher) Virgil Goode, a few locally based campaign staff and supporters, and a regional radio host as emcee. Perhaps not strangely, no local candidates were there to ride the coattails. (Should Trump win the nomination, the freeloaders come later.)
Shortly before Trump arrived, the campaign doled out rally signs, which obscured the already bad view for attendees in the non-tiered barn. A hot commodity, the signs celebrating the “silent majority” didn’t make it far past the sides where they were handed out.
After Trump’s arrival and the cheers retreated from their frenzied high, The Donald held a moment of silence for the dead in yesterday’s mass shooting in San Bernadino, California, and praised law enforcement officers and his newly minted Secret Service detail, which he would utilize shortly thereafter.
The recent controversy of the endorsements of Trump by black pastors gave way to endorsements by, you guessed it: black pastors.
At one point, Trump said: “I’m not here to entertain folks; I’m not an entertainer.” The irony was lost on nearly everyone. While most were there because of their support for Trump, it’s no secret that Trump’s rallies draw large crowds in no small part because he is precisely that: an entertainer. Trump rarely underperforms. The real question is whether a given Trump rally has that lightning-in-a-bottle quality. This rally lacked it.
With any political rally, there were protesters and disruptors of many stripes. A man displaying a Confederate flag was apparently escorted out as the night’s festivities began. A couple of others were escorted out for arguing, over what I wasn’t sure, and outside the venue there were folks supporting Planned Parenthood, as well as pro-illegal immigration protesters who oppose Trump’s views on the subject.
Noticing the barely audible immigration protesters outside, Trump paused his speech to direct the police, Secret Service, and his private security to “move them away” so “we could hear ourselves…. Get them out, we have to…” Trump said. Men in black suits vacated their posts and proceeded to the back, and the noise was quieted.
Trump went out of his way to attack many of his GOP opponents (Kasich, Pataki, Bush, and the like), and suggested that those who didn’t make primary ballots in states like Virginia — Trump touted that he apparently has made it on to Virginia’s ballot for March of next year — shouldn’t be able to debate any more. Though, he didn’t attack Ted Cruz, who he expects will have to attack him soon since the path to the nomination, in his mind, “goes through Trump.”
He also transitioned his offensive to a three-pronged front, going after Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, as well as the “dishonest” mainstream media.
In one of his best received lines of the night, Trump joked that the reason for Bernie Sanders’s recent hernia surgery was because “he was carrying around the Tax Code he wants to make much bigger.” Trump’s jabs at the media, situated in the back, drew jeers from the crowd, which turned around to the media playpen to direct their discontent.
As is to be expected with Trump stump speeches, he didn’t spend a lot of time getting to a granular level on details: He reminded the audience of his pre-9/11 position that we should have killed Osama Bin Laden in a way that might convey he might be Nostradamus. He bemoaned the invasion of Iraq and why he thought it was bad, and praised Vladimir Putin for bombing ISIS while putting down President Obama’s plans to “send 50 guys” to fight ISIS on the ground. He suggested that we “bomb the oil” and that we also “give the oil” profits to veterans and their families.
On the domestic front, Trump attacked New Jersey governor Chris Christie for wanting to raise the retirement age, and doubled down on his pledge not to cut Social Security or Medicare in any way, shape, or form. Since eschewing cuts or raising the retirement age would require a greater and greater supplement of general fund revenues to offset changes in demographics, Trump suggested this could be accomplished by making America rich again. In other words, a booming economy would somehow offset the quickly declining “reserves” of these entitlement programs.
Trump also tackled Obamacare, spiralling college costs (though no mention of Trump University and its recent woes), and the concerns he had with international trade deals the United States is party to. Don’t worry, despite his reservations, Trump reiterated that he is a “free trader.”
After an hour, people began to trickle out. Especially the high school students. One would suspect it was in part due to the fact that it was getting hot in the crowded barn, and/or because people stood there for hours and the event was running a bit long. Perhaps one can OD on Trump.
Never one to miss an opportunity to press the flesh, Trump took Q&A from guests.
Here, he pledged his support for Israel and promised to visit in the near future, and noted a campaign commercial he filmed for Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump brought a child on stage to ask a question about what his 1,000 mile border wall would be made of. (Spoiler: “Hardened concrete, rebar and steel.”)
A female clothing designer discussed mercantilism with Trump, and he brought her on stage for a European cheek-kiss and a photo-op. A small business owner and veteran, who Trump joked couldn’t be a veteran because he looked “like he was 22” prompted a small stump speech on his VA reform proposals.
Wanting to end on a high note, Trump’s speech began to wind down. I saw myself out into the cool night air. Exiting through the media entrance, I noticed an abandoned pile of empty boxes from the media registration desk I first went to. I peered in.
At the bottom was a single Donald Trump media credential, which I pocketed. And then it occurred to me: they never even checked my actual ticket.
