HOOSIERS WELCOME PRESIDENT TRUMP
Rally in Elkhart, which prez carried in election, packs school gym with supporters
ELKHART, Indiana — President Donald Trump swept into politically friendly Midwestern turf Thursday evening for a campaign rally to drum up Republican Senate support and promote unity just days after primaries in which GOP congressmen lost key races.
Hours after Trump announced the release of three Americans held captive in North Korea and a planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, speakers blasted Queen’s “We are the Champions” inside a packed middle school gymnasium in this northern Indiana town.
In 2016, Trump carried Elkhart County and much of the region surrounding the recreational vehicle industry and manufacturing hub. On Thursday, he was greeted by a crowd of thousands of ticketed supporters who couldn’t make it inside for the event.
Protesters were vastly outnumbered by Trump fans, with businesses and schools welcoming the president — in town to raise support for Republican Senate nominee Mike Braun, just days after he secured the nomination in the primary election. Trump moved the rally from South Bend to Elkhart to target Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly’s political ground.
Trump’s plan is to rally support in areas where Democrats are vulnerable, but some supporters said they didn’t vote in last week’s primary. They wore “Make America Great Again” hats and T- shirts and hoisted Trump 2020 signs, with some there to thank the president they say is saving their country.
“He wants our freedom to go forward. All kinds, speech and independence,” said Steve Kashishian, 68, of Elkhart. “To live in the lights and not in the darkness.”
At the North Side Middle School, police guarded the front entrance alongside a large military vehicle. The crowd in the school’s gymnasium quickly swelled to more than 7,500 people, with thousands lining the streets around the school trying to get in.
Many said they’d go home to watch the rally on TV.
“Whatever he campaigned for, he’s trying to get done,” said Barb Brown of Elkhart. “I really trust him.”
Brown called Trump’s “personal” controversies “garbage.”
“It makes you not appreciate the media anymore, or trust them. It’s not necessary, and it’s not helping the country. It’s splitting us up,” Brown said.
Charles Moore, too, said he “looks over” negative headlines for a president he voted for: “They’re haters. I don’t care. Don’t bother me.”
“The tax system helps us out a lot,” Moore, of Lake Station, Indiana, said. “We like our crumbs, as Nancy [ Pelosi] would say.”
There were some Trump supporters with some advice, however.
“I have a few things he does I wish he wouldn’t do,” Norman Beerhorst, 68, of Osceola said. “His Twitter. Just too much jibber- jabber stuff. Concentrate on getting stuff done for us.”
Beerhorst said he supports Trump — and is happy about the economy and corporate tax changes — but wants more changes when it comes to gun control.
“Gun control for the automatic weapons for sure. I still believe in the right to bear arms, but like our forefathers meant, not automatic assault weapons,” Beerhorst said. “Those need to be changed. The laws to get guns need to be changed. I wish he’d work on that a little harder, but the NRA is a pretty big operation.”
At the intersection of Cassopolis and Emerald, several blocks from the rally, more than 100 people protested the president’s visit. Police outside the rally said protesters were sectioned off blocks from the middle school.
“I am from here, Elkhart, Indiana, and I don’t want this in my town,” said Michelle Richards, 53. “Because Trump promotes racism, sexism, misogynistic behavior toward women, and homophobia with Mike Pence. I’m sorry, I don’t want that in my town.”
“HE WANTS OUR FREEDOM TO GO FORWARD. ALL KINDS, SPEECH AND INDEPENDENCE. TO LIVE IN THE LIGHTS AND NOT IN THE DARKNESS.” STEVE KASHISHIAN, of Elkhart, Indiana