Sarah Faulkner – Features Editor
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Presidential candidate Donald Trump made his second campaign stop in Alabama on Saturday, Nov. 21. Hosted at the BJCC, the rally was free and open to the general public, drawing in a crowd of around 10,000, according to Trump.
“I think Trump coming to Birmingham for free was a good thing,” Senior Zack Carpenter said. “We don’t see many candidates in Birmingham, despite Birmingham’s district historically being democratic, as the state is not a swing state. Having candidates here allows someone to see their potential presidents in person, and in an unbiased way. News footage can be edited, and even live broadcast can be unintentionally biased. Traditionally, the idea is that it’s a waste of money to spend having rally in Birmingham, unless you’re here for publicity purposes, which raises some questions about this stunt.”
However, some Birmingham residents actively stood against the Trump rally.
“Go sign up for this and don’t go. It’s free. Let’s show this corn (sic) that he isn’t welcome in Birmingham,” one Facebook comment said on the Eventbrite page that offered ticket and seat reservations.
During the rally, Trump spoke of his plan for a wall to be built along the southern border of The United States and encouraged the attendees to chant, “Build a wall!” In addition, he spoke out against allowing Syrian refugees inside the country, outlining various graphic details of murders allegedly committed by those who managed to enter The United States illegally in order to illustrate why the government should bar refugees from being granted access to the country.
“Basically, he laid out what he wants to be done in America, such as a fence along the southern border and getting rid of ISIS terrorists and vetting refugees who are to come over,” said Sarah Griffin, a political science major who attended the event out of curiosity rather than support for Trump. “I was expecting a laid out speech and what he really planned to do and didn’t really get one. He sort of went along and thought of things as the rally went on. He spent a lot of time bashing others and the media. Not really a lot on what he really will do.”
Trump also spoke of the need for surveillance of certain mosques, which he did not name. On Nov. 20, the day before the rally, Trump also told an MSNBC reporterthat, “There should be a lot of systems [to track Muslims in the country]. Beyond databases.”
“It was all cool and interesting until we started to realize he just rattles on and makes comments about those on food stamps and other things like that,” Griffin said. “We left early because it wasn’t worth listening to his nonsense. It was a once in a lifetime event though, no doubt.”
During the rally Mercutio Southall Jr., a local activist, interrupted the rally, shouting, “Black lives matter!” and “Dump the Trump” with two other protesters, amidst the crowd of thousands. Shortly afterwards, he told CNN that he and other protesters were “swarmed” by other attendees and called a “monkey” and the n-word, before he was escorted out, at Trump’s demand.
“I’m not saying [the situation]was arranged, but just like the Hispanic woman who jumped on stage to declare her love for Donald, Trump is trying to convince us pretty hard that he doesn’t know [Southall],” Carpenter said.
In a video captured by CNN reporter Jeremy Diamond, Southall can be seen lying on the ground, being kicked and punched by white male attendees, as Trump can be heard saying, “Get him the hell out of here, will you, please? Get him out of here. Throw him out!”
“I saw the encounter, everyone is making it seem like more than it was, but the man made an outburst during someone’s public event and should have been escorted out,” Griffin said. “As for Trump’s comments and the things people said to him, those are definitely uncalled for. But if you’re yelling ‘F— Trump’ during his rally, you should know better and you should be sent out.”
Commenting on the protestor on the Sunday following the rally, Trump told Fox News that Southall was “so obnoxious and loud.”
“Maybe he should have been roughed up because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing,” Trump said.
However, on the day of the rally, his campaign spokesperson, Hope Hicks, told CNN that the campaign does not condone the behavior of those who striked Southall.
“Honestly, I feel like because of all the racial issues going on, tensions are high and it’s easy to get things started. I do feel like he may have known there would be certain people there that wouldn’t agree with him regardless,” Griffin said. “I do feel like if the man wanted to make a real stand, he should have protested where his voice would have been heard by those passing by and he wouldn’t be in danger of being put out. I don’t know everyone’s heart but if there were racist people there and they acted wrongly or made ugly comments, they should be ashamed about it. I think there’s always different sides to what happens and whatever people are feeling, that’s how they will interpret it. But definitely being in Birmingham and the historical context does add just another layer of awareness and tension that should have been handled with more care and respect.”
Following Southall’s removal from the rally, Trump compared how he responded to the situation to how presidential candidate Bernie Sanders dealt with the Black Lives activists that came onstage at one of Sanders’ events.
According to The Washington Post, Trump said, “You see, he was politically correct. Two young women came up to the podium. They took over his microphone. I promise you, that’s not going to happen with me. I promise you. Never going to happen. Not going to happen. Can’t let that stuff happen.”
While Griffin feels that Trump was wrong in “provoking” the situation with his comments, she felt like the secret service acted correctly in escorting the man out.
“Actually seeing a political figure in real life was pretty cool and taking what he said and applying my [political science]knowledge to it, it only solidified for me that I don’t want to vote for him,” Griffin said.
