Many attendees at the RedState Gathering wanted to hear from Donald Trump in person, but they think Erick Erickson was right to disinvite him from speaking at the event.
Erickson, the editor of RedState.com, explained his decision to boot Trump at the beginning of Saturday’s events. Before offering his reasoning, he played a clip of Trump making pejorative comments about Fox News personality Megyn Kelly. Trump told CNN that he could see “blood coming out of her wherever,” during the first nationally televised GOP presidential debate on Thursday.
As a result, Erickson said he did not want his daughter to share a room with the reality television star, and offered to refund attendees’ money if they came specifically to see The Donald in person. But, he noted, the event sold out long before Trump was scheduled to appear.
Many in the audience told the Washington Examiner they did not come to see Trump, and would have attended regardless of whether or not he was scheduled to appear. One woman, who declined to provide her name because she said she did not want to be on the record criticizing Trump, was furious with Trump and said “enough is enough.”
Many others, mostly male, seemed ambivalent about Trump’s departure.
Lance Walker, a RedState attendee, told the Washington Examiner he was not saddened about missing Trump at RedState.
“I think it’s probably appropriate [to rescind Trump’s invitation], just in terms of this is Erick’s gathering, he feels pretty strongly about it, and I think most people would agree,” Walker said. “He [Trump] says a lot of things, taps into an undercurrent, but I think the other candidates say the same things but do not get the same attention.”
Frank Corrick, an attendee from Athens, Ga., said he registered to attend long before Trump announced his intention to visit the gathering. He added, “I’d like to see him, but it’s not my show.”
A few vocal Trump supporters also turned out for the RedState Gathering this weekend, despite Trump’s absence. Michael Pemberton, a RedState attendee, wore a makeshift sign that read “I am Donald Trump.” He said his sign was modeled after the “Je suis Charlie” response to the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, France. For Pemberton, RedState’s rescinding of Trump’s invitation bore some resemblance to the Charlie Hebdo massacre.
“It’s ridiculous, it’s a travesty,” Pemberton said about Erickson’s decision. “This is all about political correctness. I hate political correctness.”
He seemed intent on proving his devotion to being politically incorrect.
“I’ve never been sexually harassed by the way,” Pemberton said in response to a question about Trump’s absence. “There’s several women here that I would be glad to have harass me sexually, but I can’t accommodate. I’m taken.”
Trump, meanwhile, continues to hurl antagonistic insults at Erickson and the organizers of RedState. His barbs seem to galvanize his supporters all the more. The Trump campaign sent out a statement on Saturday morning that said, “not only is Erick a total loser, he has a history of supporting establishment losers in failed campaigns so it is an honor to be uninvited from his event.”
Erickson has announced that he invited Kelly to speak in Trump’s place. While RedState makes new plans, several attendees have begun searching for a replacement presidential candidate to become the standard-bearer of conservatives who remain angry with the Republican Party.
When asked to list their favorite presidential candidates by the Washington Examiner, the name that seemed to be on the tips of most attendees’ tongues was Carly Fiorina. She was the first presidential candidate to respond to Trump’s comments on Kelly and expressed her unwavering support for the Fox News host. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has enjoyed widespread support at the RedState Gathering, and appeared to draw the largest standing-room-only crowd of the weekend on Saturday afternoon.
