October 31, 2019 Comments 0 Southwesterner staff 2107 Views

SWAU Student Attends Trump Rally in Dallas

American Airlines Center was filled with 20,000 supporters of President Trump on Thursday, Oct. 17 for a rally.

(submitted Anonymously)

As a Republican voter, I was excited to hear that President Trump would be holding an event in downtown Dallas. I’d never been to any kind of political rally, so I was filled with anticipation.

When I arrived outside of the American Airlines Center on Oct. 17, I was met by a completely disorganized crowd of roughly 15,000 people. I had no idea where the line started and neither did the event staff. In fact, while trying to find the back of the line I was accused by the event staff of trying to skip the line. I spent seven hours waiting in line hoping that the stadium wouldn’t reach its 20,000-person capacity before I could enter. It was during that time that I experienced the worst part of the entire event. The people in attendance.

While in line I spoke with lots of people. Many of them were very polite in the way they shared their views, but they were sorely outnumbered by the many bitter supporters who had an ugly attitude towards everything. There was a widespread feeling of hostility among most of the crowd.

I witnessed several yelling matches over differing political views and some very aggressive, even more so childish, accusations of line cutting. As a Republican I’ve always proudly championed the conservative values of being civil and rational. The behavior I saw at the rally was opposite of that and I was very disappointed to say the least.

I was eventually able to enter the stadium just ahead of the 30,000 people who had to remain outside. I found my seat, and waited patiently for the President to appear on stage. He of course was thirty minutes late in doing so.

Despite the rally’s chaotic nature, it was truly amazing to see the President in person. Although I won’t be attending any future rallies, this experience is one that I hope to someday share with my children. I would recommend that if presented the opportunity, everyone should go see the President in person. It’s a once in a lifetime experience.