By Sam Seymour
On a bright, sunny day in Colorado Springs, there was a sea of red. Thousands of people gathered at the Broadmoor World Arena, where the Colorado College hockey team plays their home games. The crowd on Thursda, Feb. 20 was not there for a sporting event; they were there for a show.
The opening acts included Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner and Vice President Mike Pence, all building up to the big headliner: President Donald J. Trump. The 45th President was making a stop in Colorado Springs as a part of his 2020 re-election campaign, with this particular rally focusing on a couple of major themes: the re-election campaign for Sen. Gardner, the creation of the Space Force, and the state of the economy. While some were there to protest President Trump and his actions, including a group of CC students, the crowd was overwhelmingly excited to see the president in the flesh, speaking to them and celebrating a potential four more years in office.
Many people in the crowd sporting the now-infamous red “Make America Great Again” hats felt a wave of excitement. Although President Trump was scheduled to start speaking at 5 p.m., the Broadmoor World Arena, which seats just over 8,000 people, had nearly filled up before 4 p.m. Many people camped outside the night before, hoping to get great seats to see the president speak.
Lorraine Beham usually works at the Broadmoor World Arena, but she was not working that day. Wearing a red, white, and blue tie-dye t-shirt from a 2016 Trump rally, she was more than upfront about her support for Trump.
“Save America, vote Trump. Because if we don’t win this thing, and those demon rats get in, it’s gonna get worse. We’re gonna be a communist nation,” Beham says. “He’s from New York, and that’s where I’m from originally, and he tells it like it is. A lot of people don’t like us New Yorkers because we’re too blunt, but at least you know where we stand.”
Like many Trump supporters, Beham admires the honesty and frankness that Trump displays, something very unusual for a politician. Also, like some other Trump supporters, she has trouble naming one specific thing when asked about his biggest accomplishment, citing how much he has gotten done during his presidency.
“He’s done so many good things it’s hard to say. At this point, I would say maybe keeping our borders closed, because we can’t financially keep all these people. I mean most of them are scumbags that are coming in,” Beham remarks, going even further to say, “They are young military age men, rapists, troublemakers, and they’re all coming with their hand out. They don’t want to assimilate. I have no problem with people moving in this country if they assimilate, like my grandfather and his father did, you know, but they’re just here like gimme free gimme free.”
Some people had flown into Colorado Springs specifically for the event. George and Geralyn Park, who live in the Mojave Desert in California, flew up to Colorado because their daughter is an Air Force graduate and an officer in the newly formed Space Force, as well as because they wanted to see President Trump in person. As both of them are veterans, one of the reasons they support Trump is his stance on military and veteran aid.
“As a veteran, I appreciate his support for the military,” Geralyn remarked. “Not only is our daughter a lieutenant, but my son did two tours in Iraq.”
Both George and Geralyn are registered Independents but have been aligned with Trump since his first presidential campaign. Both agree that President Trump has had a great effect on the country in many facets.
“I think the biggest change is the attitude of America,” said George. “Can you imagine how happy a world this would be if both sides of Congress were on the same page? His biggest accomplishment is continuing to produce what a good president does, despite all of the, [for] lack of a better word, horse manure that’s been shoveled his way.”
When asked what President Trump’s biggest accomplishment was, Geralyn said, “Support for the military and increasing the budget. Preparing our planes and getting new tanks, because even though we’re all prior service, nobody wants war. Nobody wants killing, but you have to be strong. And I think he understands that, that’s why I like him.”
President Trump was not only in Colorado Springs to promote himself; he was there to endorse Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, who is facing a tough reelection campaign. Vice President Pence urged the crowd to vote for the senator, saying, “So right after you get done voting to give President Trump four more years, we need Colorado to vote to give six more years to Sen. Cory Gardner.” After bringing the senator out on stage, President Trump cited Gardner’s support for him, saying he was one of his best allies in Congress.
“There’s no waver from Cory,” Trump told the cheering crowd. “We appreciate you. Thank you, Cory!”
Gardner was one of a plethora of topics President Trump covered during the two hours he spoke. In between raving about the success of his presidency, his unwavering support, and his victory in 2016, he also talked about the recent Academy Awards (“And the winner is from South Korea? I thought they were announcing the best foreign film!”), recounted the number of hands he shook at last year’s Air Force Academy graduation ceremony (“1156 hands!”), and reviewed every single Fox News host and whether or not he was a fan (“We love Sean (Hannity). We love Sean.”). He also played pundit to the preceding Democratic debate, going after “Mini Mike” Bloomberg, “Sleepy Joe” Biden, “Crazy Bernie” Sanders, and “Choker Amy” Klobuchar.
“They’re all so far left they’re gonna fall off the stage!” Trump said, marveling at how progressive the Democratic candidates are.
While many cheered and delighted in the thrilling atmosphere, there were a few present in the arena that did not share the same positive energy. A group of CC students had gathered at the rally with plans of a peaceful disruption of President Trump’s speech. Midway through the speech, seven students chanted “Lock him up!” until they were escorted out of the arena.
“Don’t listen to them,” said President Trump, trying his best to ignore them and to convince the crowd to do the same. However, even though it was a relatively small group of protestors compared to the thousands of Trump supporters, they still disrupted the speech, bringing on a chorus of jeers as they exited. Trump did lose his train of thought, however; he had originally been leading up to bringing out Sen. Gardner, but forgot where he had left off and didn’t introduce the Colorado senator for another 10 minutes.
A CC freshman was a part of the group of seven kicked out of the rally. He found out about the protest through his friends, and decided to go to demonstrate his freedom of speech. “I feel like in these kinds of rallies when all of these people come, sometimes it feels like there’s no other side opposing Trump. So I think it’s important to show these sides, even at such small quantities.”
Even with the disruption, Trump supporters were fully satisfied, cheering plentifully before, during, and after the rally. As people left the arena concluding his speech, many of Trump’s supporters were in awe of Trump’s speech, only cementing their brash support for the President.
“I loved it!” said Lois Clas, a Colorado Springs resident. “My eyes were glued to the stage the entire time,” her husband Tom added. When asked about Trump’s biggest accomplishment, Tom responded, “Turning around the economy the way he did. And I know it touches so many different areas, but it’s just been miraculous the way he’s done that… But the fact that he turned it around within three years is just amazing. It’s a compilation of a lot of his policies; trade policies, taxes, everything just kinda goes together and it touches the economy in the right way, because he’s such a good businessman.” Lois agreed with her husband, saying, “The way he deals with foreign-aid and foreign trade, he’s just a genius. But I love that he’s draining the swamp, because the corruption is unbelievable.”
On a bright, sunny day in Colorado Springs, there was a sea of red. Thousands of people gathered at the Broadmoor World Arena, where the Colorado College hockey team plays their home games. The crowd on Thursda, Feb. 20 was not there for a sporting event; they were there for a show.
The opening acts included Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner and Vice President Mike Pence, all building up to the big headliner: President Donald J. Trump. The 45th President was making a stop in Colorado Springs as a part of his 2020 re-election campaign, with this particular rally focusing on a couple of major themes: the re-election campaign for Sen. Gardner, the creation of the Space Force, and the state of the economy. While some were there to protest President Trump and his actions, including a group of CC students, the crowd was overwhelmingly excited to see the president in the flesh, speaking to them and celebrating a potential four more years in office.
Many people in the crowd sporting the now-infamous red “Make America Great Again” hats felt a wave of excitement. Although President Trump was scheduled to start speaking at 5 p.m., the Broadmoor World Arena, which seats just over 8,000 people, had nearly filled up before 4 p.m. Many people camped outside the night before, hoping to get great seats to see the president speak.
Lorraine Beham usually works at the Broadmoor World Arena, but she was not working that day. Wearing a red, white, and blue tie-dye t-shirt from a 2016 Trump rally, she was more than upfront about her support for Trump.
“Save America, vote Trump. Because if we don’t win this thing, and those demon rats get in, it’s gonna get worse. We’re gonna be a communist nation,” Beham says. “He’s from New York, and that’s where I’m from originally, and he tells it like it is. A lot of people don’t like us New Yorkers because we’re too blunt, but at least you know where we stand.”
Like many Trump supporters, Beham admires the honesty and frankness that Trump displays, something very unusual for a politician. Also, like some other Trump supporters, she has trouble naming one specific thing when asked about his biggest accomplishment, citing how much he has gotten done during his presidency.
“He’s done so many good things it’s hard to say. At this point, I would say maybe keeping our borders closed, because we can’t financially keep all these people. I mean most of them are scumbags that are coming in,” Beham remarks, going even further to say, “They are young military age men, rapists, troublemakers, and they’re all coming with their hand out. They don’t want to assimilate. I have no problem with people moving in this country if they assimilate, like my grandfather and his father did, you know, but they’re just here like gimme free gimme free.”
Some people had flown into Colorado Springs specifically for the event. George and Geralyn Park, who live in the Mojave Desert in California, flew up to Colorado because their daughter is an Air Force graduate and an officer in the newly formed Space Force, as well as because they wanted to see President Trump in person. As both of them are veterans, one of the reasons they support Trump is his stance on military and veteran aid.
“As a veteran, I appreciate his support for the military,” Geralyn remarked. “Not only is our daughter a lieutenant, but my son did two tours in Iraq.”
Both George and Geralyn are registered Independents but have been aligned with Trump since his first presidential campaign. Both agree that President Trump has had a great effect on the country in many facets.
“I think the biggest change is the attitude of America,” said George. “Can you imagine how happy a world this would be if both sides of Congress were on the same page? His biggest accomplishment is continuing to produce what a good president does, despite all of the, [for] lack of a better word, horse manure that’s been shoveled his way.”
When asked what President Trump’s biggest accomplishment was, Geralyn said, “Support for the military and increasing the budget. Preparing our planes and getting new tanks, because even though we’re all prior service, nobody wants war. Nobody wants killing, but you have to be strong. And I think he understands that, that’s why I like him.”
President Trump was not only in Colorado Springs to promote himself; he was there to endorse Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, who is facing a tough reelection campaign. Vice President Pence urged the crowd to vote for the senator, saying, “So right after you get done voting to give President Trump four more years, we need Colorado to vote to give six more years to Sen. Cory Gardner.” After bringing the senator out on stage, President Trump cited Gardner’s support for him, saying he was one of his best allies in Congress.
“There’s no waver from Cory,” Trump told the cheering crowd. “We appreciate you. Thank you, Cory!”
Gardner was one of a plethora of topics President Trump covered during the two hours he spoke. In between raving about the success of his presidency, his unwavering support, and his victory in 2016, he also talked about the recent Academy Awards (“And the winner is from South Korea? I thought they were announcing the best foreign film!”), recounted the number of hands he shook at last year’s Air Force Academy graduation ceremony (“1156 hands!”), and reviewed every single Fox News host and whether or not he was a fan (“We love Sean (Hannity). We love Sean.”). He also played pundit to the preceding Democratic debate, going after “Mini Mike” Bloomberg, “Sleepy Joe” Biden, “Crazy Bernie” Sanders, and “Choker Amy” Klobuchar.
“They’re all so far left they’re gonna fall off the stage!” Trump said, marveling at how progressive the Democratic candidates are.
While many cheered and delighted in the thrilling atmosphere, there were a few present in the arena that did not share the same positive energy. A group of CC students had gathered at the rally with plans of a peaceful disruption of President Trump’s speech. Midway through the speech, seven students chanted “Lock him up!” until they were escorted out of the arena.
“Don’t listen to them,” said President Trump, trying his best to ignore them and to convince the crowd to do the same. However, even though it was a relatively small group of protestors compared to the thousands of Trump supporters, they still disrupted the speech, bringing on a chorus of jeers as they exited. Trump did lose his train of thought, however; he had originally been leading up to bringing out Sen. Gardner, but forgot where he had left off and didn’t introduce the Colorado senator for another 10 minutes.
A CC freshman was a part of the group of seven kicked out of the rally. He found out about the protest through his friends, and decided to go to demonstrate his freedom of speech. “I feel like in these kinds of rallies when all of these people come, sometimes it feels like there’s no other side opposing Trump. So I think it’s important to show these sides, even at such small quantities.”
Even with the disruption, Trump supporters were fully satisfied, cheering plentifully before, during, and after the rally. As people left the arena concluding his speech, many of Trump’s supporters were in awe of Trump’s speech, only cementing their brash support for the President.
“I loved it!” said Lois Clas, a Colorado Springs resident. “My eyes were glued to the stage the entire time,” her husband Tom added. When asked about Trump’s biggest accomplishment, Tom responded, “Turning around the economy the way he did. And I know it touches so many different areas, but it’s just been miraculous the way he’s done that… But the fact that he turned it around within three years is just amazing. It’s a compilation of a lot of his policies; trade policies, taxes, everything just kinda goes together and it touches the economy in the right way, because he’s such a good businessman.” Lois agreed with her husband, saying, “The way he deals with foreign-aid and foreign trade, he’s just a genius. But I love that he’s draining the swamp, because the corruption is unbelievable.”
Trump supporters were not the only ones satisfied with their time spent at the Broadmoor Arena. The protestors who had been kicked out were also satisfied with what they had accomplished. “The fact that the seven of us could disrupt the speech really shows how much difference one person can make,” the CC student commented. He mentioned that with a more organized form of protest, he would do it again if he had the chance. “I just appreciate the freedom of speech, and I feel like it was so empowering to go there and say our piece and leave peacefully and safely. I’m also very thankful to all of the students who are passionate about politics and who organized this to show that there are always other sides to these issues.”