Trump Visits Valdosta State
Republican candidate Donald Trump spoke to more than 7,500 people at .E Complex at Valdosta State University (VSU), Monday, Feb. 29.
Photo by Yulita Howard
Photos by Keytron Hill
By Keytron Hill
Special to the Outlook
Supporters of Republican candidate Donald Trump filled the P.E Complex at Valdosta State University (VSU), Monday, Feb. 29. While signs, flags and sounds of Trump’s name filled the air, the atmosphere outside the auditorium told a different story.
Trump opposers gathered across the street from the auditorium with signs that read quotes such as, “Promote equality, not white supremacy,” and “Honk to fight Bigotry.” The chant, “Love and not hate” echoed the street as horns honked in agreeance with the protesters.
“I feel as though Trump promotes a lot of ignorance and hatred and takes advantage of a lot of groups of people who don’t know a lot about issues. He’s looking to acolyte personalities to lead them without actually understanding what he’s supporting,” said Jackie Jernica, a VSU sophomore applied mathematics student.
Down the road, VSU’s NAACP members argued with police officers after being escorted out of the building and off of the premises. Dressed in all black, the students wiped their tears and walked away as they tried to express that their goal wasn’t to verbally protest but to simply attend the rally.
“We wasn’t going to say anything, we was just going to let our presence speak for itself,” said NAACP President Jasmin Martin, “We are affected by what is happening today, being that it’s on campus, we felt like this was going to bring unnecessary attention to our school where we are supposed to feel safe,” she continued.
Trump spoke to a room filled with over 7,500 people. His main issues were continuing his plans of building “The Wall” to keep Mexicans from entering America, making America rich again and his belief that America is lacking good negotiators.
Trumps main focus was making it known that he is not a “Politician” like his fellow counterparts.
“I’ve dealt with politicians worldwide and they’re never going to get you to the promise land,” said Trump , “Every single event I’ve been to I’ve won. The reason is, I’ve never done this before,” he added, “All these guys do is talk. No action, they debate, nothing gets done. They then go to get campaign contributions. ‘I promise I’ll do this,’ but I’m so convinced that our country can be greater,” he continued.
After approximately 45 minutes, Trump speech came to an end.
“I was very disappointed. There wasn’t anything of substance said tonight. There wasn’t any real policy discussed. There was nothing very specific that you would expect, being that Super Tuesday is tomorrow,” said a VSU student.
The student says he expected to hear Trumps foreign policy plans and how immigration is affecting Americas job market.
Dessie Brown, a Trump supporter, left the rally with a smile on her face and shared her thoughts on Trump, who she says will be the next president.
“We’re Christians and we believe that he’s going to be good for our country. We’re tired of politics as usual. We’re ready for something different,” said Brown.
