Trump OKC rally draws fervent crowd of supporters
Fans of President Donald Trump waved signs and flags Saturday at the Oklahoma Capitol in a show of support and pride for the 45th president.
The March 4 Trump rally, which mirrored other gatherings across the nation, comes a little more than a month after the president took office. One of the speakers, state Sen. Ervin Yen, told the crowd that he’s heard people say Donald Trump isn’t their president.
“Well, they’re wrong. Donald Trump is my president, just like our previous president was our president,” said Yen, R-Oklahoma City. “Why? Because we’re all Americans. These people who say Donald Trump is not their president, they can fix that. They don’t have to be here in America, do they?”
The rally-goers, who barely filled the south plaza of the state Capitol, were an eclectic mix of Oklahomans. Some wore ties and slacks. Others wore military-style camouflage and some attendees draped Trump flags over their shoulders to keep warm in the chilly, windy weather.
Will Daniel, 20, a University of Oklahoma student, carried a handwritten sign that read, “Preserve our nation. End immigration.”
“Yeah, I’m probably a little edgier than the average Trump supporter,” said Daniel, who said he identifies with the nationalist and alt-right movements. “It doesn’t matter that much illegal or legal; they’re not really compatible civilizations all the time.”
Daniel said the country is being lost to immigrants.
“If you look back in like the 1960s, the demographics were a lot different than they are now,” he said. “That’s kind of where I’m coming from.”
The sparse crowd contrasted with another rally on the Capitol grounds the day after Trump’s inauguration, which reportedly drew thousands of people marching for women’s rights. That rally was seen as a proxy to anti-Trump sentiment.
On Saturday, Linda House of the Cherokee County Republican Women, chartered a bus to carry 20 of the group’s members from Tahlequah in northeastern Oklahoma.
“There were just so many that couldn’t come, but we had enough people that we could come,” she said. “I would have loved to have brought a full load, but we just couldn’t get them.”
Cherokee County, which has historically been a Democratic stronghold, is losing members to the Republican Party. Democrats still have a large majority of registered voters, but House said she’s seen a shift. For her, the election of Donald Trump is a vindication.
“Donald Trump gives us hope because we see a leader. I feel like we’ve had a lot of talk in the last eight years, but we haven’t seen a lot of action that’s good for our country. We’ve seen a lot of action that was detrimental to our country,” she said. “We are so glad to have people in office that really want to take America back to the greatness that we once were.”
The rally in Oklahoma City was part of a nationwide push to support the president, who took office Jan. 20. Rallies were held in several states and also at Trump Tower in New York City and at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.
The Associated Press reported that in some locales, including near the president’s weekend vacation home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, rally-goers and protesters exchanged profanity.
In Oklahoma City, a small group of anti-Trump protesters held signs and sometimes taunted the rally’s attendees. Serenity Jackson, 21, an Oklahoma City resident, argued loudly with Trump supporters as the larger crowd began chanting “U-S-A.”
A contingent of Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers watched from nearby, but the arguments did not escalate.
Hollis Harper, of Oklahoma City, held a sign with the names of Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin overlaid on a Russian flag.
“I’m concerned with his Cabinet positions and their connections with Russia and Putin,” said Harper.
He cited reported ties to Russian oil companies and the country’s influence on the U.S. election.
“Russia is involved in United States politics so deep,” he said.
Event organizer Ricki Woodruff praised the attendees for a peaceful demonstration.
“I’m really excited. Everybody came out. Everybody was peaceful. Everybody showed unity, which is exactly what we wanted,” Woodruff said. “This is a great big block party; no violence, nothing was destroyed. Everybody’s smiling and having a great time.”