Trump -- For Comparison
A few days after my HRC Rally write up, I was encouraged to go to a Trump Rally!?
After an initial flinch I decided it was a must do so I could see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears that which most take in via our Main Stream Media or youtube. And I'm glad I did. Without a personal experience, i would have been fooled for a lot longer about the way they were framing his talks.
Whether you like him or hate him becomes far less relevant when you realize the level to which the Media is framing narratives.
This isn't nearly as long or entertaining as the HRC write up, although there are a few items of interest.
I wrote this up on 8/16/2016 so much of the info at the bottom isn't as crisp as it might have been prior.
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On June 2, 2016, There was a Donald Trump rally was in San Jose CA. Donald Trump had already locked up the Republican Nomination for President, so at this point it was PR and prepping for primary election only.
San Jose has a population of about 1 Million people. Total population within a 1 hour drive (Monterey on the South and San Francisco on the north) is around 5 million.
After an initial flinch I decided it was a must do so I could see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears that which most take in via our Main Stream Media or youtube. And I'm glad I did. Without a personal experience, i would have been fooled for a lot longer about the way they were framing his talks.
Whether you like him or hate him becomes far less relevant when you realize the level to which the Media is framing narratives.
This isn't nearly as long or entertaining as the HRC write up, although there are a few items of interest.
I wrote this up on 8/16/2016 so much of the info at the bottom isn't as crisp as it might have been prior.
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On June 2, 2016, There was a Donald Trump rally was in San Jose CA. Donald Trump had already locked up the Republican Nomination for President, so at this point it was PR and prepping for primary election only.
San Jose has a population of about 1 Million people. Total population within a 1 hour drive (Monterey on the South and San Francisco on the north) is around 5 million.
I got the the area around 6:15. I parked at the red X and walked the green line to the green ball.
As I got about half way along the green line I came up behind an affluent young white couple with 2 girls that were about 5 and 7 years old. The kids had been given anti-trump signs and the gist was "we don't want hate". Personally, I really questioned the parents decision to ask them to carry the signs. While we as adults have the ability to sense and discern things for ourselves, something just didn't sit right with me about getting kids at such a young age that involved with such a complex situation. To each their own.
When I turned the corner from W. San Carlos Street onto S. Market St, I saw the small mob of protestors that had congregated in the road (green ball on map) and I came upon another interior metal barrier. The cops and a few people were inside the barrier and the mob was outside.
I walked around to the left to get behind the small mob...(and as I am posting this, I realize you can't see the small mob because of all of us gawkers standing around them...)
And I continued walking left..
And then a little more left and I looked back on the gawkers around the edges like me...
You see the man in the RED SOCKS, sitting down on the curb with the white hair and beard? He had a Bernie Sanders hat (or was it a pin) on. I had stopped and talked with him prior to taking this photo. He was from the 4th dimension, coming back to help with this revolution. To quote him as close as I recall, "These people [referring to the protesters] are crazy! They'll never be successful with a revolution."
And to that I chuckled.
I told him that the Bernie Sanders fans were the revolutionaries, and that the predominately Latino crowd at the center of the mob that was raising all kinds of hell was not so much out for revolution as they were for blood.
He couldn't really comprehend what I said. I tried to explain to him several times that not everyone agreed it was time for a revolution and he just looked so sad and perplexed. I could just see the stress he was going to carry back to his time machine once his experience on the curb was over.
I walked back around the mob to the area I started, to walk behind the metal barrier where the cops were to gain admission and I found this guy again. (but as it turned out, his buddy had had the sign at the HRC Rally). This really is one of my favorite posters for HRC.
Just to the left of the upper left corner of his poster is a "P" on an awning. Underneath that was a small area to access the secure area. I walked up to get in and found out I had to have registered for the event?!? (wth?)
It was 6:30pm. Thirty minutes before show time and I started to panic. No way had I come this far to miss the show!
I called my trusty Partner back at Cat Central, and she was able to get me registered on Trumps website in under two minutes. Once armed with the email confirmation on my phone i got in a 5 person long line to pass thru the access portal. (5 people. that is not a typo).
I didn't realize I was going to be walking another block + to get to the South Hall (I was a virgin South Hall guest). After I made it through the portal (just a opening in the metal fencing), I started to stroll down the street. The five of us who passed thru at the same time started to spread out and within a few minutes there was nobody within 30 feet of me . It was freaking weird.
Was I really at a rally for the guy who had already won the 2016 Republican nomination for the Presidency?? This place was a ghost town!?!
The blue and white building on the right is the South Hall. This was my approach.
It was 6:30pm. Thirty minutes before show time and I started to panic. No way had I come this far to miss the show!
I called my trusty Partner back at Cat Central, and she was able to get me registered on Trumps website in under two minutes. Once armed with the email confirmation on my phone i got in a 5 person long line to pass thru the access portal. (5 people. that is not a typo).
I didn't realize I was going to be walking another block + to get to the South Hall (I was a virgin South Hall guest). After I made it through the portal (just a opening in the metal fencing), I started to stroll down the street. The five of us who passed thru at the same time started to spread out and within a few minutes there was nobody within 30 feet of me . It was freaking weird.
Was I really at a rally for the guy who had already won the 2016 Republican nomination for the Presidency?? This place was a ghost town!?!
The blue and white building on the right is the South Hall. This was my approach.
Those I passed thru the portal with were behind me...
And this is what the view left down E. San Salvador St looked like... down the street you can barely make out 3 people blocking the steet. (and this would be the street we'd all wake down at exit time. You will see that black mural wall later).
Finally, just outiside the doors of South Hall!
and this was the scene outside the South Hall just 30 minutes before show time...
(Has anyone seen photos of the lines at Bernie Sanders Rallies? Has anyone seen photos of the fake lines at HRC Rallies? This is odd)
Just inside the doors was the security check points and then I walked around a curtain wall and saw this...
(Has anyone seen photos of the lines at Bernie Sanders Rallies? Has anyone seen photos of the fake lines at HRC Rallies? This is odd)
Just inside the doors was the security check points and then I walked around a curtain wall and saw this...
Holy Crap. What a strange venue?!?! It's like a beer hall but no tables and no beer.
The picture below is of the backside of the curtain wall I had walked around. It was the Trump Memorabilia vending station.
The picture below is of the backside of the curtain wall I had walked around. It was the Trump Memorabilia vending station.
The Dias Ahead!!
And then it happened... at around 645 pm, 15 minutes prior to show time, there was some music/noise/a quick announcement and then all of a sudden he appeared!! (What's up with starting early!?? That was kind of rude if you ask me. A lot of Trump fans and interested spectators were still rolling in??)
Don't let all the baseball hats, white skin and flannels fool you. There was actually some diversity in the crowd (and I'm being serious). Obviously not nearly the type of diversity seen at the Sanders rallies, but there was a handful of races there and a reasonable female showing.
After getting my up close and personal feel, I stepped back to get a better view and as you can see, the audience base had grown since he started the talk 15 minutes early.
I found a small rise in the floor and put my hand over my head and this was the view (pic below) about mid talk. If I had to guess, there were enough people to fill two basketball courts... maybe two and half... (in a town of 1 million people).
I found a small rise in the floor and put my hand over my head and this was the view (pic below) about mid talk. If I had to guess, there were enough people to fill two basketball courts... maybe two and half... (in a town of 1 million people).
The guys to my left with the American flag were interesting. That is not a middle finger he is hold up. It is a #1 sign.
And the two folks behind me with Hillary Clinton Supporter T-shirts on (left center of pic below -- older man in wheel chair and a guy a generation or two younger standing with his arms crossed low in front of him).
Who wears Hillary Clinton T-Shirts to a Trump rally? That is just weird. (but nobody aggravated them at all, and after Trump got done, they were applauding heartily. It was weird).
Who wears Hillary Clinton T-Shirts to a Trump rally? That is just weird. (but nobody aggravated them at all, and after Trump got done, they were applauding heartily. It was weird).
And as for his speech...
I took some notes on my smart phone... here they are as I typed them...
I took some notes on my smart phone... here they are as I typed them...
Most republican votes ever
Hillary was sad
We are in a movement
There's never been anything like that
All about where we are
All about the movement
We're going to be inclusive
We are going to bring jobs back
10 months vs 200 years of experience (him against his rivals) -- we are doing well
I was a part of the Establishment. I've been on both sides.
I'm representing you.
He's spent 55 million on his campaign via a loan. The lawyers made him do it as a loan.
He's working with the Republican National Committee
We are going to solve drug problem in New Hampshire (???)
Allowing Hillary to run is embarrassment to us all.
If I win, 5 year statute of limitation (on something)
Newt is Historian. never been anything like this in 200 years.
Crazy Bernie. Second biggest audience.
We have to do this for Supreme Court Justices.
Bernie - system is totally rigged against him
Bernie and I agree we are getting ripped off on trade. Wealth being taken by dopes. Trade deficits.
Not smart for decades [prior politicians]
Medicare and Social -- we need to bring jobs back
Hillary ran up 1 Trillion trade debt w China
I have stats - I don't want to depress you
Won florida - 66 out of 67 counties
Hillary has a lot of attack ads. They are all false. Well some might not be.
Billory -- Single greatest political phenomena ever
Washington Post bought by Bezos to protect his monopoly
Our allies think we are stupid. We are a poor country. We owe $21 Trillion.
BlueCross BlueShield is going to have a 60% increase
Hillary is going to lose on guns alone.
We have no modern ships or planes in our military.
He was close to Scalia
Legal immigration -- lots of it
Stop Drugs coming in
We are going to win.
Other than my notes, here's what i recall taking away...
His talking about himself between other topics got annoying after 15 minutes or so. He seemed to randomly chat for about 5 minutes and then slip in something kind of relevant in and then return to chatting.
He actually made some good points about quite a few things that I've never really heard the press give him credit for.
When he talked about correcting health care problems he said "we'll have to fix it". A little short on details.
On the wall and immigration... what he did say after the cheering for the wall died down was that we needed immigration to be a successful country, but we needed legal immigration. (and you don't hear the MSM putting that sound bite out).
As for the crowd... I saw Mexicans, other latinos, asians, Jews and even a few women dressed in muslim garb... (believe it or not). I'm not saying these were all Trump fans. For all I know there were there like me, just to observe and experience.
In general, everyone was very respectful to each other. A few times during his talk someone up front in the crowd would bust out a protest sign and Trump would pause as the seemingly Samoan/Pacific Islands security team would find the disruptor and then escort them out. In fairness, they treated the protesters okay. One or two of the protesters got belligerent as they got out of the crowd (closer to me) and the security got more forceful with them, but it was appropriate to keep them moving and there were no punches thrown nor dirty take-downs.
After an hour and some, he finally wrapped up.
The crowd and I filed out of the venue... and this is where some things got a little odd (again)...
As a group, we followed the blue path out of the containment area.
His talking about himself between other topics got annoying after 15 minutes or so. He seemed to randomly chat for about 5 minutes and then slip in something kind of relevant in and then return to chatting.
He actually made some good points about quite a few things that I've never really heard the press give him credit for.
When he talked about correcting health care problems he said "we'll have to fix it". A little short on details.
On the wall and immigration... what he did say after the cheering for the wall died down was that we needed immigration to be a successful country, but we needed legal immigration. (and you don't hear the MSM putting that sound bite out).
As for the crowd... I saw Mexicans, other latinos, asians, Jews and even a few women dressed in muslim garb... (believe it or not). I'm not saying these were all Trump fans. For all I know there were there like me, just to observe and experience.
In general, everyone was very respectful to each other. A few times during his talk someone up front in the crowd would bust out a protest sign and Trump would pause as the seemingly Samoan/Pacific Islands security team would find the disruptor and then escort them out. In fairness, they treated the protesters okay. One or two of the protesters got belligerent as they got out of the crowd (closer to me) and the security got more forceful with them, but it was appropriate to keep them moving and there were no punches thrown nor dirty take-downs.
After an hour and some, he finally wrapped up.
The crowd and I filed out of the venue... and this is where some things got a little odd (again)...
As a group, we followed the blue path out of the containment area.
The picture below is taken as we were turning right onto E. San Salvador St -- looking up the street at the green blob. That is a Blue Line of Police keeping protesters at a distance. Frankly, i wondered what kind of trap we were walking into at 1st street, because I knew that is where our protection ended.
the next pic is from about 50' further down the street on on the right...the black mural I mentioned above can be seen with cops on watch --- this is just as we were arriving at 1st street.
We took a left on 1st Street. I fell in behind a Mexican America and his wife/girlfriend. About that time a lowrider filled with young (twenty year old) Mexicans came up beside us waiving a Mexican flag and agitating things. The Mexican American in front of me started telling his younger ethnic brothers to put the flag away and stop the Mexico chants. He aggressively told them if they didn't like the options here, they could go the f--k home. It was in interesting exchange. They didn't really yell back at him but they didn't stop their behavior either.
As we got to W. San Carlos the crowd started to separate. I went across the street and then left back towards my car. As I got on the north side of the green blob I looked south on this scene. Some folks had stayed on the south side of the street and beyond them, the wall of blue guys has started to walk in a line to push the remaining protesters towards us. (so the protesters were pushed into a flow of folks leaving the Trump Rally).
About another hundred yards up... where the blue blob is... there were Network news camareas and all kinds of rucus. The only problem was, I was in the lead group leaving the rally... and point is... anyone who had been in the Trump Rally couldn't have also been in the group that was getting filmed...
Something was off with the picture... I hadn't seen many/any network news cameras other than those on the podiums inside the venue and now there were 2-3 cameramen circling about 100 people who were causing all kinds of chaos (mostly latinos)... And this is the general area where the photos were taken from helicopter of people surrounding a car.
Are you getting the picture yet?? The people from inside the Trump Rally weren't involved in the mob scene... they were trying to get around it... and yet that is what made it on TV via the MSM.
I watched as the mob of mostly Latinos moved down the sidewalk parallel to me. I also watched a fight or two break out from some Trump supporters who tried to work their way around the crowd, and I watched as San Jose's finest looked on from a distance without much concern.
All in all here was my take on those in the Trump Rally --
-- They are hungry for a Patriotic America where there is work and support for the working folks
-- They feel the Establishment is destroying our country
-- They feel forgotten and unsupported
In many ways, I saw a similar thirst to those I saw at Bernie Rallies. Their idea of who to follow for a solution and how to get there was different... it was more emotional maybe... but the thirst for serious and significant change away from Establishment politics was the same.
- Were the supporters of Trump aggressive -- Not at this Rally
- Were the supporters of Trump diverse -- Yes, actually they were
- Were the supporters of Trump respectful of each other -- Yes, very much so
- Were the supporters of Trump generally respectful to protesters outside the venue? -- Absolutely, as the protesters were a far more aggressive bunch
- Were the supporters of Trump generally respectful to protesters inside the venue? - Yes, well within reason
I've never been a huge Trump fan, however, I do respect him as showman. He understands how to get attention and move it around in ways that most folks could never dream of.
Do I think Trump was a plant to destroy the Republican Party and to get HRC elected? Yes... actually I do.
The first time Trump went off the rails about the Muslims I felt something was wrong. He's too smart of a showman to say that stuff in the manner it was said if he really wants to get elected. I also however tend to think he might have been surprised by his success, but who knows.
A video of his full talk is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUKBq7LrkfI
A video (not mine) of the violence I saw at the end is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6AI2rNAIqQ
Another video (not mine) of the violence I saw at the end is here , and i can assure you, within 50 yards of this, there were at least 10 San Jose Police officers and/or CA National Guardsmen watching it all play out with disinterest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvBH7f6KJeU