Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump held a rally at the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016.
In his opening statement, Trump greeted Fairfax — instead of Fredericksburg. He did not acknowledge or correct the mistake.
Trump spoke from a teleprompter, and focused on jobs for coal miners and steel workers, tax cuts for family farmers, health care for veterans and active duty military, and building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.
“We’re going to build the wall and Mexico is going to pay for it” Trump said, to loud cheers. “It will be very easy. Politicians think we’re joking. We don’t joke.”
Trump also reached out to black voters. “I’ve asked the African American community to honor me with their vote,” Trump said, citing the GOP as the party of Abraham Lincoln, the president who issued the proclamation freeing slaves. “I fully recognize that outreach to the African-American community is an area where the Republican Party must do better, and will do better,” he said.
Trump did not provide any details for how he planned to accomplish his promises and policies.
One of the biggest cheers came when Trump mentioned he’d met earlier in the day with Stafford Sheriff’s Office staff, and visited with Deputy Brandon Boyle, who’d been shot in the line of duty on June 7. Trump asked for a round of applause in support of law enforcement.
Graham Turner of Stafford thought Trumps’ speech was “great.” “His stand behind law enforcement is not what we see with Obama,” he said.
Spotsylvania resident Cheryl Rusk was most impressed with Trump’s promise to cut the tax rate “from 35 to to 15 percent” for family farmers. “I live near a lot a farmland, and I feel for my neighbors,” she said. “They are struggling, to say the least.”
Jim McKelvey supports Trump because he’s worried about appointments to the Supreme Court. “If the Supreme Court goes liberal, they will tear our country apart,” he said. McKelvey is on the Trump Campaign’s 5th Congressional District Virginia Leadership Team. “I’ve walked away from my company and my farm to campaign for Trump,” he said.
Free tickets for the event were gone within a few hours, but the crowd was relatively small because only a smaller portion of the Expo Center was used.
Irma Garcia stood across the street from the Fredericksburg Expo Center with a small group of people protesting against Trump. The Mexico native became a U.S. citizen in March. He daughter Shayla has just turned 18. Both will vote for the first time in November, and both are supporting Hillary Clinton. “We’re not criminals; our family has worked hard,” Irma said. “We don’t find support with Mr. Trump.”
Editor’s Note: This story was edited slightly from its original posting, to include the quotes about black voters and the GOP.
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