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Donald Trump Launches 80-Minute Manassas Barrage Following Moment of Silence
The Republican front-runner paused to honor the victims of the San Bernardino shootings, then tore into the man he hopes to succeed as president.
Bloomberg
Margaret Talev
12/2/2015
Excerpt:
In the Virginia suburb of Manassas, best known for its historical distinction as a U.S. Civil War battlefield, Republican Donald Trump drew fans and curiosity-seekers Wednesday night to the same local fairgrounds where Barack Obama staged a massive rally on the eve of his election to the White House.
At that 2008 rally, which drew nearly 100,000, the Illinois senator who would become the nation's first African-American president pledged to bridge the nation’s racial, ethnic, and political divisions. Trump reiterated his promise to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico and to reverse Obama administration policies that he said favor undocumented immigrants over U.S. citizens.
“We have to be heard now, folks, because our country’s going to hell,” the billionaire real estate mogul said.
Trump has taken a unique path to his front-runner status at this point in the Republican presidential primary, two months before the Iowa caucuses, trashing his primary opponents by name and making statements about immigrants, women, and Muslims that prompt backers to applaud his willingness to speak his mind and critics to accuse him of appealing to Americans’ worst fears and prejudices.
The Manassas rally, which was held indoors and drew a far smaller crowd than Obama had in 2008, began on a higher note. In recognition of a mass shooting with multiple fatalities hours earlier in San Bernardino, California, Trump called for moment of silence. Afterwards, he spoke of his appreciation for police, steering clear of a discussion on gun control.
Quickly, however, he returned to his campaign stump speech.
“I used to call it a silent majority,” Trump said, speaking about his base of support. “It’s not a silent majority; it’s really become a noisy majority.”
The Obama administration treats undocumented immigrants better than U.S. military veterans, he said. At another point, the crowd went wild when he vowed, “We’re going to build a wall” between the U.S. and Mexico. “We’re going to stop people from coming into our country illegally.”
“What is the wall going to be made of?” a young boy asked the candidate.
“Hardened concrete, Rebar and steel!” Trump told him.
The audience Wednesday reflected a cross-section of this swing state, which twice gave its electoral votes to Obama and whose governor and U.S. senators are Democrats. Trump’s audience, largely but not exclusively white, was a mix of die-hard fans, voters curious to know more, and a couple of outright opponents who said they wanted to experience him in person.
“We want to be a unifier and we have to be a unifier,” Trump said. Then, hearing protesters outside, he instructed security, “Get them out, we have to. Will the police remove them, very gently please?”
Warm-up speakers at the rally included an Iranian-American and a black minister, and Virgil Goode, a 69-year-old former Virginia congressman who said Trump is needed to stop liberals who want to bring in Syrian refugees. Goode switched his party registration from Democrat to independent and finally to Republican as a member of the U.S. House. The white ex-lawmaker told the crowd he didn’t know about them, but he is “sick and tired” of being at the bottom of the country's totem pole. Someone in the back of the room shouted that the American-born Obama was really “from Kenya.” - (bold, underline and color emphasis added)
.................................................. ..
View the complete article, including video and images, at:
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/ar...ent-of-silence
The Republican front-runner paused to honor the victims of the San Bernardino shootings, then tore into the man he hopes to succeed as president.
Bloomberg
Margaret Talev
12/2/2015
Excerpt:
In the Virginia suburb of Manassas, best known for its historical distinction as a U.S. Civil War battlefield, Republican Donald Trump drew fans and curiosity-seekers Wednesday night to the same local fairgrounds where Barack Obama staged a massive rally on the eve of his election to the White House.
At that 2008 rally, which drew nearly 100,000, the Illinois senator who would become the nation's first African-American president pledged to bridge the nation’s racial, ethnic, and political divisions. Trump reiterated his promise to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico and to reverse Obama administration policies that he said favor undocumented immigrants over U.S. citizens.
“We have to be heard now, folks, because our country’s going to hell,” the billionaire real estate mogul said.
Trump has taken a unique path to his front-runner status at this point in the Republican presidential primary, two months before the Iowa caucuses, trashing his primary opponents by name and making statements about immigrants, women, and Muslims that prompt backers to applaud his willingness to speak his mind and critics to accuse him of appealing to Americans’ worst fears and prejudices.
The Manassas rally, which was held indoors and drew a far smaller crowd than Obama had in 2008, began on a higher note. In recognition of a mass shooting with multiple fatalities hours earlier in San Bernardino, California, Trump called for moment of silence. Afterwards, he spoke of his appreciation for police, steering clear of a discussion on gun control.
Quickly, however, he returned to his campaign stump speech.
“I used to call it a silent majority,” Trump said, speaking about his base of support. “It’s not a silent majority; it’s really become a noisy majority.”
The Obama administration treats undocumented immigrants better than U.S. military veterans, he said. At another point, the crowd went wild when he vowed, “We’re going to build a wall” between the U.S. and Mexico. “We’re going to stop people from coming into our country illegally.”
“What is the wall going to be made of?” a young boy asked the candidate.
“Hardened concrete, Rebar and steel!” Trump told him.
The audience Wednesday reflected a cross-section of this swing state, which twice gave its electoral votes to Obama and whose governor and U.S. senators are Democrats. Trump’s audience, largely but not exclusively white, was a mix of die-hard fans, voters curious to know more, and a couple of outright opponents who said they wanted to experience him in person.
“We want to be a unifier and we have to be a unifier,” Trump said. Then, hearing protesters outside, he instructed security, “Get them out, we have to. Will the police remove them, very gently please?”
Warm-up speakers at the rally included an Iranian-American and a black minister, and Virgil Goode, a 69-year-old former Virginia congressman who said Trump is needed to stop liberals who want to bring in Syrian refugees. Goode switched his party registration from Democrat to independent and finally to Republican as a member of the U.S. House. The white ex-lawmaker told the crowd he didn’t know about them, but he is “sick and tired” of being at the bottom of the country's totem pole. Someone in the back of the room shouted that the American-born Obama was really “from Kenya.” - (bold, underline and color emphasis added)
.................................................. ..
View the complete article, including video and images, at:
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/ar...ent-of-silence
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