Trump’s sly chief pick accused of lying
JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. — As the Virginia General Assembly prepared to celebrate its 400th anniversary Tuesday, protesters and demonstrators prepared to stand in the sun hoping to see or be seen by President Donald Trump.
Hundreds of protesters lined up outside Jamestown High School to hop aboard a shuttle to Jamestown Beach to protest the president’s visit.
In total, about 350 protesters showed up, chanting phrases like “This is what democracy looks like” and “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist U.S.A.” One of them was Lucy Quinn. She said she wanted to protest the president because he threatens democracy.
“And the fact that he’s anywhere near a celebration of our democracy and our representative government, here at Jamestown, just enraged me,” she said.
Across the street, about 20 people demonstrated in support of the president. Susan Austin, a Trump supporter, said she felt the group was discouraged from coming because there wasn’t a lot of information on travel arrangements.
“I had a big group that was going to come down, but they said, ‘We can’t go, all the roads are going to be closed down,’ “Austin said.
Albert Burckard, from Carrollton, said he came out to show support for the president.
“I think it’s important that all views are heard and people get a chance to see both sides of the coin, so to speak, and so that’s why I’m here, to present the other side of the coin,” Burckard said.
While the protests were peaceful, tempers flared as the ceremonies were near their conclusion as demonstrators and protesters hurled rhetorical insults at one another.
One anti-Trump protester asked the opposing side, “Why do you like kids in cages?” Pro-Trump supporters responded, “Why do you kill babies?”
Iyabo Osiapem, an antiTrump protester, said the president had a knack for dividing people.
“He kind of presses the buttons that he knows are going to (set) us off, and that is his tactic, but funny enough that’s what got me out here,” Osiapem said.
“There was a point in my past where I was willing to let people say stupid stuff,” Osiapem said. “Trump has made it so you can’t let these things go anymore, you have to address them because we are where we are because we’ve been willing to ignore these things. Trump is not the only culprit, he is just the one who has made it OK to hate.”
While protesters and demonstrators held signs and spoke up at Jamestown, eight women with Williamsburg-James City County Indivisible dressed in garb reminiscent of characters in the Margaret Atwood novel “A Handmaid’s Tale” and briefly stood outside the Williamsburg Crossing shopping center.