The Rebels of Harrisburg PA: What I Saw at a Donald Trump Rally

Donald Trump is a rock star

On April 21^st, Donald Trump graced the Harrisburg area with his presence, drawing nearly ten thousands Pennsylvanians to the Farm Show Complex.  His rally shared a facility with an Alpaca show that was going on at the same time.

@KilloughCNN @ADPEfferson TRUMPACAS! pic.twitter.com/pXcOXYVaAQ

— EJ Hill (@RicochetEJHill) April 21, 2016

The line to enter the venue was nearly wrapped around the 11 building arena, with little sign of it getting shorter as the evening progressed.

As I stood in line for the event, it felt more like attending a rock concert than attending a political rally. The energy among the attendees was electric. Those around me excitedly spoke of Trump and their belief in his messages.

Vendors took advantage of the long lines of Trump supporters, selling merchandise like knock off Make America Great Again hats and “Hot Chicks for Trump” pins.

The atmosphere projected by those outside the arena was crass, and far from family oriented. Upon joining the line, I was immediately told with a wink by a merchant that his Hillary For Prison shirt came “in size sexy.” It was going to be a long night.

In line, rally attendees were immediately surrounded by drunken frat brothers fresh off tailgating in the parking lot, peddlers selling shirts that say “Hillary Sucks, but not like Monica,” and vendors making a fool of themselves, shouting  “Trump that B*tch.” Another vendor was selling shirts referencing Trump as the only candidate who “had balls.”

Another massive line outside Trump event. This time in Harrisburg PA pic.twitter.com/veC9xXuoDG

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) April 21, 2016

The crowd laughed and seemed to really enjoy the funny Trump swag that was available to purchase. A group of middle aged couples in front of me in line were adamant that they would only buy Trump merchandise that was made in the USA. You could find almost anything Trump related that you were looking for — playing cards, football jerseys, foam fingers. You name it and they had placed Trump’s name on it and were trying to sell it.

Two lone protesters stood in the designated “Free Speech zone.”

After two agonizing hours waiting in line, I made it into the Trump rally. As Trump finished up his speech, which was interrupted by protesters at several times, I snuck outside to beat the crowds and to get a feel for those who were outside. The line was still wrapped around the complex.

Trumps short speech in the arena was the draw for some people, but many came to the event to see the debacle that surrounds anything associated with Trump.  As I left the rally, a large group of protesters had started to gather on the other side of the road from those still in line trying to get in. For the next hour, I spoke with protesters and counter protesters that had formed a large gathering outside of the Farm Show Complex.

The Protesting

The atmosphere surrounding the Donald Trump rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was electric but calm before the rally, however, it began to shift in dynamics as the evening progressed.

Sylvia Russell, 18 of Newville, PA, came with her Iranian grandfather to protest at the rally.

“I’m here mainly because people from where my Grandpa is from [Iran] are being persecuted in their own country,” she said. She has personally felt the backlash of Trumps words, recently being called a terrorist by fellow students because of heritage. Russell said she is scared of another civil war and that a Trump presidency could end the United States as we know it.

The chants of “f*ck Donald trump” rang out in the background.

Next I spoke with Allen Bor, 17, a student from Harrisburg.  “I just don’t like Trump. I just don’t want him to win.”

Bor said that what really inspired him to come and protest were Trump’s comments on Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, which felt like a personal attack on him and his friends. “I’ve got to stand by my friends, they’re my family!”

His friend quickly interjected, shouting “These people are crazy! Trump won’t make America great, he’ll make America horrible! Vote for Bernie Sanders!!”

Another young protester from that same group, Jada Collins, a recent graduate from Harrisburg, said that she came out to protest because, “This is my country. That’s why I came out here. And I’m for Hillary Clinton”.

Our conversation was thwarted by “Donald sucks” chants.

Not all protesters supported the more brash attitude that some in the crowd showed.

“This is my first rally!” said Crystal Cooper, an enthusiastic student from Harrisburg. “I honestly think it’s kind of funny,” Cooper said, referring to the back and forth “Build That Wall” and “F**k your wall” chants.  “It makes no sense at all.”

Kirsten Lambert and Benjamin Derk came with several students from Messiah College. Some students came supporting Trump, and were inside enjoying the rally, while others, like Lambert and Derk, came to protest.

“We just came here to kind of spread the love,” said Lambert. She acknowledged that some of the protesting there wasn’t very loving though, referring to the group who just finished up chanting “f**k you, Trump.”

“There’s so much division that we are seeing… very hateful and dividing,” said Derk. “I just see so much division, hatred, and fear that Donald Trump supports. That’s not what Americas about.”

I next spoke with a young lady, Lyndsay Ruppell, who was passionately chanting about corporate greed.

“I don’t want Trump to win because I feel like if he does, that America… is going to go down the drain. He has no plans for this country. He just wants to use fear to humiliate people and all he uses is exaggeration and I don’t support him at all.”

Ruppell, a student from Shippensburg University is writing an article and a speech on why not to vote for Donald Trump for a college class.  “I just wanted to come to protest… this is a good social experiment”

Many of the protesters cited feelings and emotions as the reason that brought them out to protest. I pressed Ruppell on specific policies that she was opposed to from Trumps campaign. She wittily replied, “He doesn’t really have any policies or plans that he puts out.”

Free Speech Zone

John Reeve was one of the two protesters that I saw silently protesting hours before the rally began in the Free Speech zone.

“I was here since there were just two of us…it was really scary, there were no police.” He felt the rage of the Trump attendees who were, “name calling, jeering… the usual stuff. It was pretty terrifying.”

Reeve, a Lewisberry High School student, isn’t able to vote yet, but that didn’t stop him from expressing his opinions. “My dad is a Trump supporter and my mom is a Bernie supporter. I come from a background… where my mom has pushed me towards believing things on my own”

Even after having cigarette butts thrown at him while walking with his sign to protest, he wasn’t angry towards the Trump supporters.  “I don’t agree with hate against hate.”

PA Capitol Police stand between protesters and Trump supporters. pic.twitter.com/HPZY9zpUer

— Bryant Maddrick (@BryantCBS21) April 21, 2016

The majority of protesters that I spoke with were Bernie Sanders supporters, but not every protester was a progressive or a liberal.

Jason, who declined to give his last name, from Harrisburg, stood about twenty feet away from the large crowd with his alternative protest. His sign read, “pro-life leads to freedom, humbleness leads to godliness, we all need forgiveness, does Trump ask for any? Ted Cruz for president.”

Jason came down to protest to spread love, not hate. “I don’t support this,” he said, referring to belligerent screaming protesters, “I support this.” He held up a Bible and a  US Constitution. “This is what I support. Where does it say in here that we need big government?”

Trump supporters join in the fun

As the rally let out, crowds of Trump supporters lined the opposite side of the street. Police officers stood between the two groups, trying to keep the peace. I hurried over to get the opinions of Trump supporters on the protesting. Many Trump supporters were eager to interact with the protesters, but were not eager to speak The Libertarian Republic.

A group of college guys were bantering back and forth with the protesters. When asked if they had comment about the protesters, they were extremely hesitant. One replied that he had feelings about the protesters but didn’t want to give me his names because,  “we have jobs, so we have to be careful what we do. They don’t give a sh*t”

Natalie Orr, 18, from Marietta, PA weighed in on the protesters. “They are being respectful by staying over there” said  Orr, “They are entitled to their own opinion. That’s all I have to say.” This is Orr’s first time voting and she’s ecstatic at the opportunity to vote for a candidate like Donald Trump.

My conversation with Orr was quickly interrupted by the screams of a young girl near us. “My dad is fighting for your right to say that,” she bellowed! A gentleman next to her joined in, telling the protesters to “go fight for ISIS.” A police officer quickly approached the Trump supporter who mentioned ISIS.

The atmosphere was quickly becoming more tense. More police officers began arriving on the scene as the sun was slowly setting.

A male protester rolled up his sign to amplify his voice and shouted to get the attention of the Trump supporters. He informed them, “Women are people too.” The Trump supporters groaned and rolled their eyes, as if they’d been heckled with this line throughout the evening.

“I think they speak for themselves.”

Three young men, all born and raised in Pennsylvania, shook their heads in disgust at the protesters.

“I’ll tell you, I’ve studied political science for 12 years,” said Derek Polion, an Army veteran, “and this speaks for itself. Look at how many people are supporting Trump… then look at the guys here who are telling them off… it’s like children. And here we’ve got grown men who are just sick of it. If you listen to what Trump says… he’s talking about creating jobs.”

When asked if they thought Trump would win Pennsylvania, all three said absolutely.

Our conversation was cut off as a scuffle ensued.  Trump supporters start chanting “USA!” as the police intervened.

Many Trump supporters delighted as the situation unfolded. One gentleman remarked at the swarm of people that “someone must have dropped a welfare card.” Another woman yelled to the protesters, “Go back to Mexico.”

I spotted two young ladies with signs referring to the refugee crisis. Millersville University students, Samantha Krasedic and Sierra Dixon, came out to protest to show solidarity with refugees. “Everyone says all lives matter, then why are saying we are going to build a wall?” said Krasedic. “We need to build bridges.”

 

“I give props to the cops,” noted Dixon, “I don’t know how their keeping a straight face in this madness.”

In the background, Trump supporters chanted “build that wall” while protesters retorted saying “f*ck your wall.”

I approached three HACC students who were engaging in the back and forth between the two groups. I could tell they were enjoying the madness.

“[The protesters] are a**holes, mostly” said Drew Heck. The crowds exploded into back and forth chants as we conversed.  “It’s not a socialist country, you f*cking hippies!” his friend added in.  Heck is a registered Independent because he was unsure what to register as when he registered to vote. Although he is unable to vote for Trump he still wanted to come to the rally show his support.

In the background a Trump supported shouted to the protesters: “We love you… We don’t hate you… you’re just assholes.”

Sebastian Kleist, of Denmark, was amazed by the political passions in the United States. “It’s awesome that people show up and support their candidate… you don’t see this in Demark at all!” When asked about Trump, he didn’t have any strong feelings saying, “I’m pretty neutral about this.”

Only the election will tell

As the sun finally went down, I spoke with two more groups of Trump supporters.

John Eckert, a senior at York College of Pennsylvania, was among a large crowd chanting things such as “no more hand outs” and “it’s all over.” He said the protesters, “are out doing their thing, we’re out doing our thing, it’s fun. We’re trying to do what we’re trying to do and they’re trying to stop us.” He was among one of the more animated crowds of Trump supporters. “The cops are doing a good job of keeping it separate,” he remarked,  “I’m glad about that.”

On my way to my car, after passing empty 40’s bottles on the ground from earlier tailgating, I passed two Bucknell students silently watching from a far. Vincent Phillippini, originally from Kansas, registered in Pennsylvania because he “felt like his vote mattered in PA.” He is a first time voter.  “I just think it’s worthless at this point,” he said, referring to the protesters. “I mean, they’re not going to stop anyone here from voting for Trump.”

The crowd of over 10,000 Trump supporters made their point by showing up en mass to this event, as did the over 100 protesters opposing Trumps views. But ultimately, the only things that will matter are the results of the Pennsylvania primary.

Contrary to the usual rhetoric put out by the media, with the exception of a handful of protesters, most  that came out to protest the Trump rally were there for peaceful and heartfelt reasons. Progressives, liberals, and conservative coalesced behind the idea of #NeverTrump at the Harrisburg Donald Trump rally. We will see what the impact is during Pennsylvania’s primary.